The Hunted
by Wulf-Gurl
Summary: Hunted.To be chased or searched out for the purpose of catching or killing. When Sierra starts to see flickers of things in the shadows around her, she starts to suspect something is up;is she being followed?Or is it just her over-active imagination toying with her?Whatever it is, she knows deep down, that something is very wrong;she just doesn't know what she's in for. Slender man
1. Prologue

_Fear. Something that controls people better than any discipline; Better than punishments, than sexual desires, better than basic desires such as hunger, even. Fear is said to have no shape; fear is many things. It is losing a loved one. Seeing something that isn't really there. Fear causes the mind to start toying with you; make you see things that aren't really there, or overreact to small bumps in the night._

Prologue

Tree branches creaked and rocked back and forth throughout the dark forest, the stiff wind bringing a cold chill. Frost clung to every tree, every blade of grass, slowly killing off what life was left in the plants. Deep within the forest, a crunching echoed off the still trees, followed by a high pitched wail of fear.

The bushes trembled on the far side of a small clearing, and a small girl burst out, her dark ginger hair knotted and tangled with twigs and leaves, pale blue eyes wide with fear. Tears streamed down her mud caked face, mixing with dried blood and finally dropping onto her once pretty bright pink dress, now torn and tattered and covered with blood.

She stared around wildly for a few moments before turning towards a lightening split tree and running. She blindly ran through the trees, panting heavily, trying desperately to get away. From what? She didn't know; all she knew was that something was in there; something dangerous. Skidding around a tree, she tried to remember how she'd gotten there in the first place.

She remembered playing hide-and-seek with her older siblings; being chosen as one of the hiding people. She had hidden herself beside their momma's patch of berry bushes, just a little ways away from the forest. Papa had always warned her to never go in there. It was too dangerous. Even he didn't like going in there. Which confused the girl the most; she had never disobeyed her Papa's orders; why was she in here? She couldn't remember ever entering the forest, only remembered running…and that she needed to get out of there as fast as possible.

With a sudden shock of pain, the girl cried out as her foot caught on something and she was sent tumbling down a small slope, whimpering as she came to a halt at the bottom where the ground evened out. She slumped there for a few long moments, sobbing, before shakily pushing herself up onto her hands and knees. Throwing a scared look over her shoulder, she saw something moving around in the shadow of the rise; long, black, slithering across the ground as if it were a big snake…

The girl hastily crawled forward a few paces, stopping as a shadow loomed over her, blotting out what little, faint moonlight she could see. Her stomach tightened as fear gripped her, and she began to shake uncontrollably. All her instincts told her to run, screamed at her, but she was frozen in the spot, staring at the frosty ground in front of her.

In the back of her head, she heard something; though it was faint, the girl made it out to sound like the static on the radio when it goes to a channel that doesn't come in clearly. It was slowly getting louder…but that was the last thing on her mind. She could feel this things presence in front of her, feel the death that hung in the air heavily…

Slowly, almost painfully slow, she began to raise her head. He was taller than any person she'd ever seen, almost looking as tall as the trees surrounding them. His arms almost grazed the ground, his long, thin fingers twitching occasionally. As her gaze traveled up, she realized he was wearing a black suit with a crimson tie; much like Papa's business friends who lived in big cities. She wanted to stop looking, to tear her gaze away, but she couldn't.

Finally, she saw his face.

And her jaw dropped in a silent scream of terror…

For he had no face.

It was just…blank. No facial features at all; no nose, no mouth, no eyes. Just…blank white. The girl desperately tried to tear her gaze away, but an overwhelming sense of comfort swept over her. The static sound in the back of her mind was louder now, as she watched the man reach down towards her, his hand outstretched towards her.

"_**Do not be frightened, child."**_

The voice sounded from inside her head, drowning out the buzzing for a few short moments. She blinked, uncomprehending what was happening.

"_**I do not wish to harm you, child. I wish to help you." **_

His outstretched hand moved closer; his voice was so comforting, and reassuring…the girl slowly, tentatively, reached a hand towards his, grasping it gently. His skin was icy cold, even more so than the ice that had formed under his feet and reached her bare, scraped knees.

"_**You are safe now, child." **_

The voice rang through her head as he pulled her up to a standing position. Instead of letting go of her hand, his grip tightened; from his back protruded something long and black, moving closer towards the girl. They looked faintly familiar…but her mind was completely blank, fully engulfed by the man's voice and the static. The things from his back, the black…tentacles (as best as she could call them) wrapped around her waist and hoisted her up so that she was face to face with him, towering above the forest floor.

"_**Sleep, child." **_

His voice coaxed gently. The girl's eyelids felt heavy, but she didn't WANT to sleep…Something deep down stirred and she wriggled around slightly, but she was exhausted; she fell limp in his grip quickly.

"_**Sleep."**_

His voice soothed, as her eyelids closed. She heard something before a dull pain seared through her, and a faint, wet ripping sound reached her ears through the static, before everything disappeared into darkness, and her last breath escaped from her in a sigh.

**AN: Hello dearies~! Yes, yes, this is a Slender fanfic. I'm trying my hand at writing one myself, since I've been caught up in the slender craze. Please, any and all feedback is appreciated! I'm not too sure about how this is sounding already, so I'd love to hear from you guys, see if you like it. If it's liked, I'll continue (Well I probably will anyways, but I want to know if it sucks or not XD) **


	2. Chapter 1

**AN: Hello my pretties~! I'm glad to see the reviews that were left, and I'm glad that you guys are liking this story so far! As much as I would've liked, I couldn't update this sooner, and I'm sorry for that. But since the weekend is here, I've been writing almost nonstop since I got home from school today XD **

**One thing I edited is the rating of the story; bumping it up to M for gore that will happen a little later on, as well as some course language X33 I'm sorry if this chapter comes off as boring; it's kind of...filler. For now. I'm not sure how long it will take to get this story rolling, but I'm trying my best~!  
**

**Remember to R&R~! 3  
**

Chapter 1

I idly listened as the TV turned on downstairs, the sounds fading in from incoherent murmurs to clear, loud voices in the silent house.

"…Seven year old Eliza Woodson, reported missing just yesterday, has been found dead inside Thompson Woods. Police reports say she was killed sometime around one in the morning, the murder weapon being unknown as of now, and there were no apparent signs of a struggle. Police are searching for any evidence that will give them a lead, but so far nothing has been found…"

I shuddered, rolling over and snuggling deeper into the covers of my bed, staring blankly at the wall. Darkness engulfed my room, aside from the bright red numbers on my alarm clock reading six thirty, turning the walls and bedsheets red. Very cautiously, I looked around, my eyes scanning for any sign of movement. Without realizing it, I had reached over to my bedside table and grabbed a small flashlight, clicking it on and shining it around the room, letting out a sigh.

Untangling myself from the warm comforter, I sat up and stretched, my back popping as I did so. With the flashlight still on, I stood up and quickly jumped over my bean bag chair, hitting the light switch and leaning against my door. _Okay, seriously. There's nothing in here,_ I scolded myself. Shaking my head, I proceeded to my small, bedroom window, pushing aside the dark curtains and shining the light outside. The thick snow was bright, and contrasted against the dark tree trunks that stretched up, the branches thinning out and spiking like claws before disappearing into the sky.

I shone the light around all the trees within seeing distance, slowly dragging my gaze across every tree trunk, looking closely at every shadowy spot, before finally, I leaned back inside, shutting the window and clicking the light off. Nothing was out there.

To be honest, I did feel a little childish, being fifteen and having a crippling fear of the dark. I don't really know what caused it; as far as I could remember, I had always been terrified of it. My mother had sent me to therapists constantly, to see if they could figure something out, but again, nothing came up. Maybe it was just one of those things, like arachnophobia? Whatever it was, it baffled therapists that they couldn't find a source.

In my opinion, it only unsettled them because they wouldn't get any more money out of us, because my mother came to her senses and decided to pull me out of therapy. Which I didn't really care for either way. I was still young; just gone into the first grade, actually. So really my only concerns were missing recess and so on.

Turning around, I was staring at my reflection in the mirror, cocking an eyebrow. My long, jet-black hair was a tangled mess of bed head, my unusual brownish golden eyes dull with lack of sleep. Yep. The face of imperfection right there.

I grabbed a hairbrush and dragged it through the tangles, wincing as tears formed in the corners of my eyes. God I hated brushing my hair…

"Sierra? It's time to get up!" I jumped as my mom banged her fist on the door, wriggling the doorknob.

"It's not locked!" I grumbled, opened the door. Like I could even lock it. My doorknob was old and rusty, and looked as if I didn't even need to turn it to open the door. Just a push and the whole thing would fall over. My mom stood in the doorway, fixing her hair up in an untidy ponytail. She blinked in surprise and opened her mouth as if to say something, then shut it again.

"You're up early…" she commented finally.

"Couldn't sleep." I replied, turning my back on her. I felt her gaze on my back for a few moments later, before she shuffled her feet away down the hall towards the staircase.

"Well alright then. I've got a meeting today at work, so I won't be back until around midnight." She called over her shoulder.

"Okay." I mumbled back, grabbing a clean pair of jeans and a t-shirt and quickly dressing. Nothing new to me, considering my mom didn't usually get back from work until around eleven thirty or so. She was a business woman, but I didn't really know what she sold…she seldom talked about work here at home. I don't know why, but I'm fine with that. I hardly talk about school, or anything else.

As I slipped into my dark blue hoodie, a sudden sense of foreboding hit me like a wave, quickly followed by a sense of paranoia. Straightening up, I looked around nervously, tapping my right hand against my thigh; one of the nervous ticks I had. I turned very slowly and jumped, gasping in surprise.

I was staring at myself in the mirror.

Flushing red with embarrassment, even though I was alone, I sighed and sat down on the bed again, pulling a pair of fur lined snow boots towards me and slipping them on. _Stupid…_I thought to myself, closing my curtains and leaving the room. _It was just your reflection. Thank god that didn't happen at school…_The sense of paranoia hadn't left, and I tossed a nervous glance over my shoulder as I crept down the creaky stairs.

Downstairs, only two lights were on; the kitchen light that was always left on to serve as a night light so people didn't trip up on things when needing to use the restroom, and the light filtering from under my mom's door. The TV was still on as well, again on the subject of that Eliza's death.

I felt a pang of sadness as I walked into the kitchen and grabbed some poptarts out of the cabinet. I knew Eliza. Maybe not as well as some of the other kids in the neighborhood, but I still knew her. She had been a very happy, nice little girl, unlike her older brat siblings. She had a light coating of freckles on her cheeks, pretty pale blue eyes, and gorgeous dark ginger hair that curled near the end.

When she was first reported missing, the whole neighborhood was devastated and began to search, myself included. The search efforts were told off, though, as we came up to Thomson Woods. Personally, I was relieved. The forest was the only other thing that scared me.

Looking away from the TV, which had moved onto the weather forecast, I put on my coat and slung my backpack onto my shoulder.

"I'm leaving!" I hollered as I left the house.

"Have a good day!" I heard mom's voice through the door as I pulled it closed behind me. With my breath puffing out in front of me, I wrapped my coat around me tighter and started to walk.

The streets had been cleared of all the snow, leaving it to pile up on the sidewalks, and I reluctantly trudged through it, getting soaked from the shins down. Glancing around the neighborhood, which was just beginning to stir, I couldn't help but look around at the forest, staring for a while as I walked before looking at the path ahead of me again. It terrified me, yes, but it also piqued my interests. Why was I scared of it? It surely wasn't because of Eliza's death; I've been terrified of it since I was small. God knows why. Maybe it was the way the darkness seemed to go on and on, down twisting paths and-

I stopped suddenly, tightening my grip on my coat. The paranoia, which had faded since I crept down the stairs, was back, hitting me harder than before. I looked around nervously, my eyes scanning the opposite side of the street, the path ahead of me and behind me. Nothing. I looked ahead again before shooting a glance towards the forest again.

My feet felt frozen to the ground as my heart sped up in terror.

Someone was there. They were a ways away, so I couldn't make out that many details, such as his face; it was hidden by shadows, as far as I could tell. He was wearing a sharp looking suit, charcoal black, with a crimson tie that stood out considerably. The person's arms were folded behind their back (as far as I could tell), and the person looked considerably tall…

In fear I stumbled back, tripping over my feet and, with a cry of surprise, I tumbled backwards into the snowdrift. I could feel cold sinking in my pant legs and soaking me, but that was the last thing on my mind. I sat up straight away, eyes wide, panting with fear, expecting to see the figure again.

But it was gone.

I sat there, completely motionless, hardly daring to breath, as I searched the tree line, trying to keep from hyperventilating. _It was nothing,_ I tried to reassure myself, hands shaking. _Probably just my imagination, or-_

"Sierra!"

I jumped as someone called my name from down the street, and jerked my head around to see someone running towards me. It took me a few minutes to realize who it was, and I scrabbled up to my feet as she reached me. I didn't even say anything as a flood of questions came from the girl; I grabbed her backpack, yanked it open, grabbed a flashlight, and shone it around at the trees again.

Still, nothing. The person was gone.

"Sierra! Will you PLEASE listen?!" I turned and looked at the girl again, her dark eyes bright with worry. "You're scaring me! What the hell happened? You looked as if you'd just seen a ghost or something!"

Deep down, my subconscious knew it was something far worse than a ghost; knew it was far more dangerous than anything I'd ever seen or heard of. I shook my head, grabbing the girl's arm and tugging her forward, wanting desperately to get away from that spot.

"I'll tell you in a minute." Was my only response, and I again ignored the questions and worry pouring from the girl.


	3. Chapter 2

**AN: Hello again~! I'm so glad that you guys are enjoying this story! Currently, I'm in the middle of writing up chapter 4...so uh. Yeah. I've been writing for a while today ^^; Just trying to get a good head start, in case I need a buffer for something XD (TOTALLY not the fact that I really want to get into this story, nope...) **

**Anywho, enjoy~! Don't forget to R&R, and the next chapter will be up within the hour!  
**

Chapter 2

"So…you're sure it was a person?"

"For the most part, yes."

"And, they were just…standing there?"

I huffed in annoyance, again tapping my hand on my thigh. "Good lord you act like you're losing your hearing! Yes, Katie, I _saw someone._" The two of us sat in the back of the English classroom, talking. The teacher, Mr. Henre, didn't really care; he was a very laid back teacher, and as long as we got our work done we could talk or text or whatever the hell we wanted. Katie, the girl who had found me earlier this morning, had pestered me nonstop until we'd gotten into here.

"But…why would a person be standing out in the forest? What were they doing?" She asked skeptically. I merely shrugged.

"They were standing right on the edge of the forest, so they weren't technically in there…but still. He looked like a business man or something, wearing a suit like that. Makes me wonder if he's just retarded or something." I said, sighing with a slight smile. Katie, on the other hand, looked worried.

"What…what if that's the guy that had…you know…_killed_ Eliza…?" She asked quietly. I stiffened. I hadn't thought of that.

"That…makes sense…" I murmured, looking down at my paper. Eliza was found dead in the forest; that guy was standing in the forest… "But…why hadn't he run? Isn't he afraid of being caught by police…?" I asked, trying to find a better explanation. Katie shook her head slightly.

"I dunno. The police said there wasn't a single trace of evidence. No fingerprints, no footsteps, not even a trace of what the murder weapon was." I swallowed the lump in my throat as Katie spoke.

"Well then why the hell was he watching me?" I didn't really want to hear the answer, and Katie said exactly what I was thinking.

"Maybe…he's looking for another victim…?" She glanced at me worriedly, and I felt sick.

"I don't want to talk about it anymore." I muttered, standing up as the bell rang. Without giving Katie another chance to talk I left the room, heading into the crowded hallways. The thought that the same murderer of Eliza was watching me made me shudder.

_You don't know it's the murderer,_ I told myself, stopping by my locker. _Maybe it was someone who went into the woods to look anyways, and they just…I don't know, were just trying to figure out who I was?_ I stopped and thought for a moment, slamming my locker shut.

_Whatever, it could've been my imagination for all I know._ I started down the hallway again, jumping as somebody grabbed my hood and yanked me backwards. "Hey girlfriend!" the guy who had yanked my hood back was just a little taller than me, with short curly brown hair and dark green eyes. I sighed, yanking my hood back.

"God damn it, Jeremy! I told you not to do that!" I spat, stalking off again. He jogged to keep up with me, smirking.

"Calm down, man, I just wanted to ask you something."

"Well ask away, I gotta be in World Geography in a minute."

"Have you seen the new guy here? What was his name…Hunter?" He asked, looking at me. I nodded slowly. "Is he cute?"

"Keep it in your pants, dumbass." I huffed, speeding up again.

"What? I'm just wondering!"

"Is that what you wanted to ask me?"

"Partially, yes. But another thing; I heard talk of you having a stalker." I stopped, glaring at him.

"Katie needs to learn to keep her god damn mouth shut." I growled, sighing. "But no. It was just some guy standing near the forest, staring at me. God, I don't even know if he was real or just my fucking imagination."

"Whoo, calm your tits man, I was just curious." Jeremy said, rolling his eyes. "But still, kinda weird if you ask me. What with Eliza-"

"I know. We went over this already." With that, I stormed off, shoving the door to World Geography open as the bell rang. _God damn, if Katie doesn't shut up the whole school will know before lunch._ I took my seat at the back of the class as Ms. Jacke, one of the most boring teachers ever, began a lecture about god knows what…like anybody ever payed any attention in here, she gave us all good grades if we even showed up. She hardly gave any homework either. Can I say easiest class ever?

I slumped back in my seat, resting my head and staring up at the ceiling. Who _was_ that person? There wasn't anybody that tall in our town…and why the hell would he be in the forest if he was wearing a business suit like that? _He must really be stupid…_I thought, sighing.

I tried to remember anything about him that might've been vaguely familiar. Closing my eyes, I tried to picture him again. Tall, charcoal black suit, crimson tie, pale skin…hm. I couldn't think of a single person that fit that category. Instead, I tried to think of any other deaths that related to Eliza's. Again, I came up with nothing.

What was she even _doing_ in the forest? I could hardly imagine what it was…her older siblings were mean, but they weren't mean enough to send her out there alone…where they? I could picture Eliza running through the forest, trying to find a way out, scared, crying…

Wait. Was she covered in blood…? Why? I figured maybe she fell or something, considering there was a good coating of mud on her and her hair was tangled with twigs and leaves. Again, she was running, casting nervous glances all around her…

And then she fell. Down a small slope, coming to a stop near the bottom. She sat there for a moment, crying, before pushing herself up and crawling forward, suddenly stopping as a shadow loomed over her. She looked up slowly, seeing a man in a charcoal suit…

I jerked my head forward, blinking, sucking in a shaky breath. I guess I had dozed off, because the bell rang just a few moments later. Sitting up, I ran a hand through my hair and picked up my belongings, leaving the room after everybody else.

God damn my imagination, scaring the hell out of me like that…

I was met outside the classroom by Jeremy again, who gave me an incredulous look. "Seriously, you look like you just woke up." He snorted, following me to my locker.

"Yeah, because I kinda just did." I muttered.

"Really? You _never_ fall asleep in class." He snickered, receiving a punch in the arm from me. "Alright, alright, take it easy. Did anything interesting happen?"

"No. World Geography isn't exactly what I'd call interesting."

"I mean in the dream, idiot."

"No." I had exactly no intentions to tell anybody about the dream. It'd only result in days of being taunted, which usually is the norm for me. But this time, it was a touchy subject, and I wasn't exactly happy about the idea of my little 'stalker friend' showing up in conversations.

"Well come on slowpoke, I'm starving!" Jeremy complained. Slamming the locker shut, I followed him into the lunchroom, and he led me to a table where Katie and another guy were seated.

Katie glanced up at me as I sat down, cocking an eyebrow.

"Nice bed head." She said, snickering.

"Right?" Jeremy, who'd seated himself beside me, commented, smiling. I didn't pay attention, I crossed my arms on the table and put my head down on them, sighing inwardly.

"So Sierra…heard you've got yourself an admirer." The third guy said, looking at me. I glared at him, then at Katie.

I'm never allowed to have a secret, I guess.

"Ha ha. Very funny, Cameron." He ran a hand through his short blond hair, his smile suddenly gone.

"No seriously, what's the deal? Katie wouldn't say anything else besides that you saw someone watching you from in the forest." Huh. Maybe I was allowed a little privacy.

Well until the rest of them began to bug me about something.

"I don't know. Maybe he took a wrong took at Albuquerque or something and wanted to ask for directions." I muttered. Cameron rolled his eyes.

"Seriously."

Fine. If Cameron's being serious, then I guess it's a serious topic now. "I don't know. I was walking, and I got the feeling I was being watched, so I looked around, and saw him. Scared the shit outta me, of course." I shrugged.

"What did he look like?" He prompted.

"Tall, pale skin, black suit and a red tie…"

"Anything else you remember?"

"Yeah, I fell on my ass and looked over, and he was gone."

"Maybe he didn't want to help you up." I smiled slightly at Jeremy's comment, standing up.

"Maybe so. I'm actually not even sure if I saw something; maybe my imagination is trying to make me go insane. Anyways, I'm starving, so if you'll excuse me." I turned and started towards the lunch line, subconsciously knowing that, deep down, I knew that guy was actually there.

And, quite possibly, was actually real.

**AN:**

**-Before you ask, yes, Jeremy is gay.-**


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The rest of the day flew by quickly. Biology, Algebra, and then study hall. Easy enough. The four of us walked down the street together, through the two inches of snow that had fallen just that day. Most days, I'd walk to Katie's house, then to Cameron's, where he and Jeremy would wait for us and then we'd walk together, and we'd all usually go to Katie's house after school and hang. Today, though, I just wanted to get home.

Bidding goodbye to them as we reached Katie's, I started down the street, listening as kids screamed as snowballs flew around the neighborhood. I tapped my thigh as I walked, keeping my gaze on the sidewalk. I didn't want to look up and look around; I knew I'd instantly look at the forest, trying to see whether or not the man was there again.

Something slammed into my back, making me jump and jerk my head up in surprise. Turning, I saw a group of about five little kids staring wide eyed at me, as if they were about to get in trouble. I smiled slightly and waved, and saw them all relax before going back to throwing snowballs at one another.

Aside from the fact that I told myself not to look around, I did. I relaxed instantly, though; it was bright out today, so that was another factor that didn't freak me out so much. Kids were running around, cars moved slowly along the roads, and adults stood shoveling driveways. Wasn't so bad.

I took a breath and glanced at the forest out of the corner of my eye. Nothing but trees. I turned my head to look, scanning the tree line. Nothing still. I visibly relaxed, trudging along the snow covered sidewalk.

_Maybe it was just my imagination. Maybe I really didn't see anything._ The thought made me relax more as I reached my house, unlocking the door and opening it. It was very dark inside. Odd, because mom usually left the TV on. I shrugged it off and turned the lights on, dropping my backpack and taking my coat off, flipping the TV on as I passed.

Again, it was on the subject of Eliza's death.

"…Besides the wounds received that caused her death, Eliza had many scrapes and cuts along her arms and legs. Investigators guess that she had been running through the trees for a while before she was murdered…"

I stiffened, holding the fridge door open as I thought. When I had dozed off, Eliza had been running…she was running from something…and then she fell, and was found by…

I shook my head. No, I must've missed part of the news this morning. Maybe they had said something before hand, and I just…wasn't paying attention, or…I sighed. Whatever. Grabbing a can of Mountain Dew and a bag of grapes, I shut the fridge door and plopped myself down on the couch. Flipping through the channels on TV, I wondered again about the man. He appeared in the forest, and again in my dream. Weird.

Maybe he was just a creepy stalker guy. Or something.

I liked that explanation better than him being the murderer, and he was just looking for another victim.

I stopped on a Sci-fi channel and watched the TV for a while. I had no idea what the show on was about, but it was interesting. Some guy was murdered by an alien, or something, and now a bunch of people went hunting for the alien. Just goes to show how smart people are.

The power flickered and went out, making me jump. I looked around for a moment before standing up and moving to the door, opening it and letting light flood in, ignoring the icy breeze that came as well. She looked outside at the neighbors house, blinking and swallowing the lump in her throat as she saw that their lights were still on.

_Maybe mine will come on in a moment, _I thought, waiting with the door still open. Finally, after a few dark, silent minutes passed, I opened the drawer next to the door and grabbed one of the flashlights from inside, shining it around the house, my heart pounding.

A moment later the lights clicked back on, and I sighed, leaning against the doorway as I shut the door. Okay, so maybe it was just a short power surge or something…Anyways, it didn't matter to me. The power was back on, so I could relax. I went and turned the TV on again, only to be greeted by static. Furrowing my brow, I switched channels, again, to find static.

Shutting the TV off completely, I grabbed my laptop from behind the couch and turned it on. It warmed up slowly, taking its time to turn on. I looked around the living room nervously, afraid the lights would go off again. I jumped again as the computer made a small noise, announcing that I could finally put in the password.

A sound from upstairs made me jump, and I looked around wildly. Was there someone in the house? There had to be; I didn't have any pets, or brothers, or siblings, and mom was at work. I was home alone…

Slowly setting the computer down on the couch, I stood up and, very shakily, started up the stairs. I knew it was a stupid thing to do, knew I should've gone to the neighbors and had them call the police or something, but still, I slowly made my way up the stairs, skipping a few that I knew would creak if I stepped on them.

My breath caught in my throat as I reached the second floor, and I tentatively started forward. The sound came again, a thump as if something had fallen over, and I winced; it came from my bedroom. Gripping the wall with one hand and tapping my thigh with the other, I moved closer to my room, carefully, silently.

When I was right beside the door, I took a very slow, deep breath, being as quiet as I could. The door was ajar and I could easily see into there, but…it was pitch black, as if somebody had tossed a thick blanket over it. I was scared to move inside the room, instead taking my flashlight and, after a few silent moments, flicked it on, shining it into the room.

Nothing was there.

Puzzled, I moved into the doorway and shone the light around. Still, nothing. I shone the light around the room several times, moving back and forth, double checking, triple checking, quadruple checking to make sure no one was there. Sighing, I turned and started back down towards the hall, rubbing the bridge of my nose.

_God, I was stupid enough to think someone was in my room…_ I heard something else, like footsteps ahead of me, but dismissed it. If there was nothing in my room, then I must've just imagined it as well. But I didn't, and I realized that a few seconds to late.

As I was walking, I bumped into someone; for some reason I thought I was at school and I had just ran into someone, I looked up, ready to apologize…but the only thing I could do was stand and stare, frozen in horror.

It was the man in the suit again.

I couldn't see him all that well, though. Darkness had engulfed the whole upper part of the house, the only light coming from downstairs. The man's face as obscured, but I didn't really care about that; I had taken a few shaky paces backwards, screaming. No. No no no no no. He COULDN'T be real. If he was real, then he was here to kill me. If he was here to kill me…

I heard my name being called. I could hardly make out the voice, and it was distant; All I knew was that it felt like someone had grabbed my shoulders. I wanted to look down, and reassure myself that nothing was there, but I was still shrieking in fear.

"Sierra!"

I sat up, gasping, back in the living room. A good coating of sweat covered my face, and, as my vision came back into focus and my panic faded, I realized my mother was kneeling beside me, her eyes wide with worry.

"Are you alright?" She asked, her voice taught. I took a deep, shuddering breath, trying to calm myself, and nodded. "Are you sure?" I nodded again, although I wasn't at all sure.

"I-I'm fine. Just…just had a nightmare." My mom stood up and brushed the dirt off her knees, sighing as she sat down beside me on the couch.

"Must've been one hell of a dream, then. When I opened the door you were whimpering and twitching like crazy." She commented. I looked up at the clock on the wall, which read twelve thirty. Jeez I'd been out for a while.

"I'm fine." I said again. I wasn't shaking anymore, and my heartbeat was almost back to normal…as far as I could tell. "Really. Just had a freaky dream, nothing bad." My mom looked at me again before standing up.

"Well alright…" She sounded worried still as she left the room, casting a quick glance before shutting her door behind her. I was left alone on the couch, my laptop on the floor, the fish on my screensaver swimming around. I pulled my knees up to my chin and sat there for a good while, thinking.

The man from the forest was in my dream again. Fucking great. I was completely terrified now; was he real? Just a figment of my imagination?

What the FUCK was going on?


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The next day, the second I woke up, I hurled all over the coffee table. I felt like shit all night after I had dozed off again (on the couch; there was no way in hell I was going up to my room after that nightmare), and that actually made me feel better…besides the fact that I had to clean it up, but still.

My mom freaked out over the whole thing, and it literally took me an hour to assure her that I was alright and that she could go to work. Now, home alone, sitting on the floor and cleaning my own vomit. That's how you spend a good Thursday. I honestly don't know what happened last night; after I'd had my little freak out, I sat on the couch for a few hours, thinking. I wasn't hurting or anything…I didn't feel sick, or have a headache…

I leaned back against the couch and sighed, scrunching my nose up. So much fun. Throwing the dirty towels into the trash can, I quickly opened a widow and lit a few incense candles. I glanced out the window, watching a car slowly roll down the street. I didn't even feel that bad. I wanted to go to school, so I wasn't bored out of my mind…

I flipped the TV on and watched it for a few hours. I was completely bored out of my mind by the time there was a knock on the door. Sighing, I got up and opened the door. Just as I expected, Katie, Jeremy, and Cameron were standing there.

"Did ya play hookie today?" Cameron asked, letting himself in. I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose.

"No, I threw up on the coffee table the second I woke up." I growled, moving to let Jeremy and Katie inside.

"Well, that explains that god awful smell." Katie stated, scrunching her nose. Slamming the door shut, I quickly lit a few more candles and settled on the couch. Cameron and Jeremy were in the kitchen, helping themselves to whatever was in my cabinets, while Katie sat in the lounge chair in the corner of the room.

"You look a little paler than usual." She commented.

"Did I mention I was sick?" I asked, glaring at her. She snorted.

"No, I mean, you look as if you've seen something that scared you shitless and you haven't gotten over it." I cocked an eyebrow at her, waiting for her to put two and two together. Jeremy got it first.

"Wait, are you still talking about that guy you saw in the forest?" He asked, leaning against the wall with a bag of chips in his hand.

"You weren't this freaked out yesterday, though." Katie said. I nodded slowly, leaning my head back against the couch and closing my eyes.

"I know…" I murmured. "I just had a weird dream last night, noth-"

"And let me guess, he was in it?" Cameron asked. I nodded again.

"Well it's just a dream, it shouldn't have freaked you out so much…" Katie commented.

"I know, that's what I think is the weirdest thing…Hell I didn't even KNOW I'd fallen asleep until my mom woke me up."

"Well what happened?" Jeremy prompted, sitting on the couch beside me. The chips lay on the counter forgotten. I thought for a few long moments, trying to remember everything from the dream.

"I was trying to get on my computer…waiting for it to load when I heard something upstairs. I freaked out because I was supposed to be home alone, but instead of running, I went up the stairs to see what it was. I knew I shouldn't have, but I still did and I have no idea why. The sound came from my room, and, being the fucktard I am, I went to see.

"I guess I had grabbed a flashlight without realizing it, because I turned it on and shone it around the room…which was completely black inside, for some reason. Nothing was in there, so I turned around to go back downstairs and I bumped into someone. Looking up, I saw it was him…" I flinched visibly as I remembered the dream, shuddering.

"What did his face look like?" Katie queried, cocking her head to the side slightly. I shook my head.

"I don't know, after I bumped into him the whole upstairs went dark, and his face was covered in shadows or something." Silence hung in the air heavily as I finished talking, the three of them staring at me as if I was crazy.

"Well, I'm starting to think that you've either gone crazy, or gone crazy." Cameron finally said. I glared at him.

"I'm not kidding." I snarled at him, standing up.

"I didn't say you were kidding. I'm just saying; it's a little odd that you see this guy outside in the forest, then again in a dream…I don't think it's a coincidence." Cameron stated, looking at me, dead serious for once. I stood there for a moment before shaking my head and going into the kitchen.

"Whatever it is, it needs to leave me the fuck alone." I grumbled, pulling out the jug of milk. Another wave of nausea hit me and I dropped the jug. I didn't even bother trying to run to the bathroom; instead, I flung myself out the backdoor (conveniently beside the fridge) and threw up in the snow outside.

When I finished I sat up again, staring at the tree line about twenty yards away. I could hear Katie and the others behind me as I stood up and wiped the snow off of my knees. Turning, I hardly looked at them as I brushed past and grabbed a cup from the cabinet, filled it with water, and rinsed out my mouth.

"Maybe we should go…" Katie said quietly. I just stood there, staring out the window at the tree line again as they silently walked past, and left. I stared out the window for a while longer before sighing, moving towards the couch again. I felt like shit, now. Head hurting, feeling nauseous, I laid down and stared at the ceiling, thinking.

Maybe I'd seen this guy somewhere, and didn't really notice until my imagination suddenly thought it'd be a good idea to make me remember. Maybe he was someone we'd learned about in World Geography, or SOMETHING. There had to be a good explanation for why I saw him everywhere…

I thought about getting on my laptop and searching something, anything, but what the hell use would that do? I had no idea what to search…tall man in suit? Like that'd give me any good answers.

I rolled over so that I was facing the back of the couch, and sighed. Maybe if I just slept it off or something, it'd blow over and I'd forget all about it…

I lay awake for hours, sleep never coming. I tried rolling over and over, switching sides of the couch, sitting up, propping myself up with a pillow, covering myself in blankets…Nothing helped. When I finally started to doze off, the doorknob turned and I sat up quickly, a sudden wave of dizziness sweeping over me.

I slumped backwards as mom walked inside, carrying a few bags of groceries. "Do you need help?" I asked, surprised; my voice sounded rough and scratchy, and I coughed a few times. She shook her head.

"No, I'm alright. There's only a few more bags in the car, I can get them." I nodded and turned on my side again, trying to fall asleep. I felt worse than I did before, and I shied away from the light that was on; for the first time ever, wishing that the light was off.

Sleep finally came, but it was light; I woke up numerous times before finally dozing off into a deep enough sleep that I got a decent amount of sleep…until I woke up to throw up again.

Walking back from the bathroom, I sat down and sighed, rubbing my eyes. No sense in trying to get back to sleep…so I grabbed my laptop and got onto Hotmail. Nothing in my email besides some junk mail. I checked a few other websites, browsed a few funny pictures, before going to Facebook.

There was the usual stock of drama, duck-facing girls, funny pictures posted by guys, and so on. I was about to close the internet when something caught my eye; it was a picture posted by someone, of a forest…it looked like it was part of a game.

The caption on the picture read 'Misunderstood Slenderman just wants to return your wallet'. There was about fifty comments on it, each talking about playing a game called 'Slender'…

I clicked on the picture and stared at it for a long while. I didn't really get what the heck it was supposed to be, it was just a forest…

Finally, I saw it.

Standing between two of the trees was a man; wearing a dark gray suit, he had elongated arms that almost touched the ground. The most noticeable thing about him?

He had no face.

Blank white, with no discernible facial features. I sat and stared at that picture for god knows how long. It only held a slight resemblance to the man I saw, yet…It scared the crap out of me. Even that slight resemblance made me believe that this was the guy.

I quickly shut the computer and put it down. I wasn't going to sit here and scare myself all morning with pictures from a game.

Still, I couldn't shake the feeling that the man from the game and the man I had seen were connected.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The rest of the week passed quickly; I was over the sickness by Sunday, and we didn't have school Monday or Tuesday because they were teacher days. Wednesday and Thursday passed by in a breeze as well. Before I knew it, Friday was upon us again.

Thankfully, I hadn't had any more freaky dreams since I became sick. No sign of any paranoia, or sightings of the man. I had almost forgotten about him, honestly, until Cameron brought the subject up again at lunch.

"So, where's your stalker been?" He asked as we sat down with our food. I blinked and was quiet for some time, shrugging.

"I don't know. Maybe I scared him with my projectile vomiting last week or something." Cameron and Jeremy laughed, but Katie still looked worried. "Relax, Katie. Seriously. I'm sure it was just something from my imagination or some shit like that. I haven't seen him since I was sick, so…" I shrugged. Katie didn't look convinced, so I ignored her. She was skeptical about everything.

The rest of lunch was spent talking about god knows what. First we were on the subject of Algebra, then something else (I didn't pay attention because it sparked an argument between Jeremy and Katie…for all I know they could've been arguing about whom in One Direction was hotter), then it moved from talking to a contest of who could make their trash into the trashcan first. Cameron won.

In Biology, there was a substitute because Mrs. Lavatia was having surgery done on her appendix or something…The sub, Ms. Roger, pulled out the textbook that we hardly used, and read out of it. Considering how half the class was wasted reading things we've already learned, it was going to be a long class.

I pulled out a notebook and began to sketch in it. I personally wasn't a good artist, but it was better than listening to her read about something we learned on the first fucking day of school.

I hadn't really realized what I was drawing, and when I snapped back into reality, I stared at the picture blankly. It was _him._

The man in the suit. Again. He was back. I'd only drawn him from his torso up, but it startled me; the charcoal suit, the tie (not colored, considering I was using a pencil), and his head; I guess I couldn't think of what his hair or face looked like (considering I'd never seen them before), so I just left his head bald and his face completely blank.

Something about this picture struck me as odd, and I just sat there staring at it, for almost the whole class time.

"Is that Slenderman?"

I jumped at the voice behind me, and whipped around to see some guy looking at my notebook over my shoulder. He was fairly tall looking, with short black hair and dark eyes. I instinctively put my hand over the doodle and cocked an eyebrow.

"Excuse me?" He blinked in surprise, as if I'd just spoken another language and he didn't know what I said.

"You…you don't know what Slenderman is?" He asked slowly. I nodded, furrowing my brow.

"Uhh…should I?" I asked nervously. He stared at me for a few moments before shaking his head and leaning back.

"No…I guess I'm thinking of something else." He said simply, looking up.

"Wait, what does-" I never got to finish my sentence. The bell rang, and the guy was out of his seat and already heading for the door before I could utter another word. I sat there for a few seconds, staring after him, before closing my notebook and gathering my things. _That's…well, weird might be an understatement…_I thought as I entered the next class.

Algebra was over before I knew it, and then it was onto Study Hall. About as interesting as watching a snail crawl around. I guess it was good, because I got all my homework done, but still. Again, I pulled out my notebook and looked at the picture of the man. Slenderman…what was that? I tapped my pencil on the notebook, staring at the picture for a while longer. Maybe there actually _was_ a connection between the man in my dream and this…Slenderman…

I was already up and out of my seat by the time the bell rang. I wanted to get home as fast as possible, so I could get on my computer and search this Slenderman thing up…Outside, Katie and the others were waiting for me, as usual. As I headed towards them, someone grabbed my arm, and I yanked it away and rounded on whoever.

It was the guy from Biology. He looked surprised and took a step back, as if I was about to attack him. "Sorry." I muttered, putting my arms behind my back. "Habit." He blinked and smiled nervously.

"Sorry if I was bothering you in Biology." He started, rubbing the back of his neck. "It's uhh…just about that picture you drew. If you don't mind me asking, did you see that…guy, anywhere before?" He asked. I blinked, nodding slowly. "Where?" This guy was starting to really get on my nerves now…

"Why do you want to know?" I asked hotly, crossing my arms. He looked taken aback by my question, and he sighed slowly.

"Because…well, it actually kind of depends on where you saw him." He muttered, flushing red slightly.

I rocked back on my heels, taking my sweet time to answer as I pretended to think. "Well…I guess…there was a few times in a dream…" I saw him stiffen at my answer, and I pretended to ignore him. "And…oh yes, I saw him in the forest once." I watched the color flush from his face as I turned around. "Don't know what this has to do with whatever you want to know, but I have to go. Au revoir!"

I smirked as I saw Katie and the others snickering, hiding their smiles behind their hands. "Dude, what did you say to him?" Katie asked as I came up beside them. "Was he flirting with you? Because he looks like he just got rejected BADLY."

Oh if only it was that.

"No, he was just asking me stuff about a picture I drew. I have no fucking idea what he was talking about, though, and I'm not too worried about it right now." Deep down, although I ignored it now, I knew something was up; glancing over my shoulder, I saw two other guys and two girls talking with him. He glanced up at me again, and our eyes locked for a few heartbeats before I turned around again.

"So, you guys going to come raid my kitchen again?" I asked as we neared Katie's.

"Nah, I'm pretty sure it still reeks of vomit over there." Cameron said, heading for Katie's door. "We were gonna hang here. You coming?" I shook my head.

"No, I have to do some research."

"For what?" Katie asked. "We didn't have homework in English…"

"Something." I called over my shoulder, waving my hand. "I'll catch you guys later!" I quickly walked down the street, trying to avoid more questions. I quickly reached my house and went inside, casting a glance over my shoulder. For some reason, I didn't really want people to know what I was researching.

I quickly threw my things on the ground and switched on some lights, grabbing my laptop and turned it on. The silence of the house as my computer started up unnerved me, so I flicked the TV on and turned it to the Sci-fi channel again. I didn't really care what was on this time; I was already on my computer and getting on Google.

I sat there for a minute, staring at the Google logo and tapping my thigh. What exactly was I supposed to search? After a few moments I decided on typing in the question 'What is Slenderman?'

The first few links that came up didn't look at all interesting, so I scrolled through them all, eventually moving onto the next page. The first link that caught my eye read 'Slender (video game) – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia'. Holy shit how popular was this Slenderman thing?

I clicked on the link and scrolled down to a section titled Slender Man and read.

_Slender Man is an entity that follows the player through the forest. It resembles a tall, thin man with elongated arms dressed in a black suit with a featureless, pale white face. When the player catches a glimpse of Slender Man at close range, a startling music sting is played which allows the player to sprint for a short period of time. Unlike jogging, sprinting will decrease the maximum amount of stamina the player has. When looking at Slender Man the screen becomes distorted with static, and if the player looks at him for too long the screen will fade to static and Slender Man's pale white, featureless face appears on the screen as the game ends. Slender Man can also turn the player around when they are not looking at him if he gets too close, also ending the game in the same manner. _

I sat back on the couch, thinking, making a mental list. Slenderman is tall, dressed in a black suit with a featureless, pale face. The man in my dream was tall, dressed in a black suit, but I couldn't see his face…

I sat up and grabbed my backpack, yanking it open and grabbing my notebook from inside. Flipping through the pages, I quickly found my sketch of the man in my dream. In a black suit, with no face…I tossed the notebook away and rubbed my temples, a sudden rush of fear making me shudder.

_God damn it, calm down!_ I told myself, taking a slow breath. _That Slenderman thing is from a game; meaning it isn't REAL. If I keep on looking this stuff up I'm going to scare myself shitless. _I closed the laptop and tossed it onto the cushion beside me, stood up, and started towards the kitchen. _Maybe if I eat something and get a good sleep this whole thing will blow over, _I thought.

**AN: Dropping a link to the resources I used~!**

** wiki/Slender_%28video_game%29**

**Thanks for Reading, and don't forget to R&R~!  
**


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The whole of my Saturday was spent doing research, even though I'd told myself I wouldn't do any more. I watched a ton of videos on youtube, documentaries about the Slenderman, videos of the Slender game (Specifically Pewdiepie playing, it's funny when he freaks out as Slenderman appears), and anything else I could find.

Each one I watched made me even surer that the Slenderman was following me. Honestly, the only things I hadn't researched was…well, what Slenderman actually WAS. I was scared to find out…I was scared to look over everything that had to do with him. That sounds childish, maybe, but…I don't know.

As I was finishing watching another one of Pewdiepie's videos, I remembered the guy from school yesterday; the one who had asked me about the doodle. I thought for a few moments, biting my thumbnail, as I tried desperately to remember his name…

Damn it. If only he'd given me his name.

I sighed, grabbing my laptop again and logging onto Facebook, probably one of my last hopes at finding this guy. I didn't even try to look up a name; I instantly went to Marissa Claire's profile, considering how she was friends with literally EVERYONE at the school. Even the teachers.

It took me a few hours, going through all two thousand and some friends, searching every profile for a picture. I was relieved, as I knew a good two hundred of the kids, so I could easily skip over them; others weren't so good, because their profile picture was a picture of something ridiculous. I browsed so many profiles, I swear I'd gone over him and not even noticed him.

Finally, I found him; or at least who I thought was him. His name was Marcus Flink, and, to my relief, he had his address on his Facebook page. I scrawled it on a piece of paper and snapped the laptop shut. Standing up, I ran upstairs and grabbed the first clothes I found (A pair of tattered jeans and a sky blue t-shirt with a tear in the side), scribbled a short note to my mom, reading 'Gone out to a friend's, I'll be back soon', and ran out the door.

It took me about half an hour to find the house, but I eventually did. He lived near the Wal-mart, in a sort of big house that was actually pretty hard to see. I made sure to check the mail box, finding his last name, before finally going up and knocking on the door nervously.

There was silence for a few long moments, so I turned to leave, thinking nobody was home. As I turned on my heel and started to walk home, I heard the door open behind me, and turned. A small girl was standing there, with short, curly black hair and big, innocent green eyes.

"Who are you?" She asked, her voice quiet. I turned and smiled nervously.

"I-I'm looking for Marcus Flink…?" I said, my statement turning into a question.

"He's my brother." She said, blinking. I relaxed slightly; at least I had gotten the right house.

"Is he home?"

"Yes." I waited expectantly for her to go get him, but she just stood there, staring at me. Silence stretched between us, and I began to tap my thigh.

"Can I talk to him?" I finally asked nervously. She stared at me again with her huge eyes, before shrugging and leaning backwards.

"Marcus! There's a girl here an' she wants to talk to you!" She yelled, stepping back. I sighed a little bit, looking around the exterior of the house as I waited. Vines crawled up the edges of the old-looking brick walls, snaking up past a second floor window, towards the roof, while hedges grew along the sides of the house. A lone tree stood in the middle of the yard, covering the whole front of the house in shade. It was kind of pretty, actually, but-

"Yeah?" My attention snapped back to the door to see Marcus standing there, looking at me. His eyes widened in surprise. "Oh, it's you." I nodded meekly and tapped my thigh faster.

"Y-yeah…I uh…wanted to ask you something, actually…" I said, stuttering a little. He cocked his head to the side slightly.

"First, let me ask a question." He said, stepping outside and closing the door behind him. "What's your name?"

"Sierra Makson." I stated easily. He nodded, and gestured forward with his hand for me to speak. Now that I was actually here, I had no fucking idea what I wanted to say…Maybe I should've planned that before I came over.

"What is Slenderman?" I asked finally, looking at him nervously. His face went blank for a moment, before he narrowed his eyes slightly.

"You didn't seem all that interested yesterday when I asked you." He commented. I looked away, feeling my face flush slightly.

"I know…but…I mean, look at it from my point of view; someone I don't know starts asking me about Slenderman, when I have no fucking idea what that is, and then proceeds to ask me where I'd seen him. And, based upon my answer, you'll tell me why you were so freaked out by where I'd seen this supposed thing." I argued, crossing my arms and giving him a hard look.

He looked perplexed, then smiled sheepishly. "Maybe that was a bad way of asking." I rolled my eyes, smiling.

"Maybe so." I looked at him again, my smile gone. "But seriously, what is this…Slenderman?" I asked, blinking. Marcus was silent for a few long moments before sighing.

"It's…a little hard to explain, honestly…and really, it sounds like it should be made up. Which it partially is, I guess." He said.

Wow. That made absolutely no sense at all. "Okay, well I did some research…er, probably more watching videos on youtube rather than research…But still. I want to know what Slenderman is."

"Actually, before I tell you, I want to know what you saw in your dream." I frowned, furrowing my brow slightly. I guess it was important to know, but…

"Well…what exactly do you want to know?"

"First off, what did he look like?"

"Well, he was tall…he wore a black suit with a red tie…and I could never see his face, but he looked really pale. I couldn't see his head, at all. Then everything got dark, and I was screaming, and then I woke up." Marcus nodded, looking thoughtful.

"Anything else about him?" I shook my head. "What happened when you realized it was him?"

"The whole upstairs of my house became dark, like he had turned all the lights off or something."

"Anything else?"

"Not that I can think of, no." Marcus nodded slowly, a thoughtful look on his face.

"Alright, stay here, I'll be back in a minute." He said, running back inside. I waited for a few moments, looking around a few times, before the door opened again. I expected to see Marcus, but instead his little sister was standing there again, watching me. I blinked and waved slightly, but she hardly moved.

"Who are you?" She asked, blinking slowly.

"…A friend of Marcus'." I said.

"I've never seen you before."

"I've never been over before."

"Marcus has never talked about you." I sighed inwardly. I really didn't like talking to little kids; I always felt awkward around them because half the time I can't understand them, or I don't know what they want. This one, though, was just starting to creep me out.

"Sadie, leave her alone." I was relieved when Marcus came back, shooing her away from the door and closing it behind him. "Sorry, she's very…uh. Weird." He apologized, rolling his eyes. Tucked away under his arm was a laptop, and he beckoned me forward as he sat on the porch and opened it.

I sat down beside him and looked at the page that was open. The Slender Man Wiki. So maybe this thing was more popular than I thought, if it had it's own Wiki…Marcus turned the screen towards me, and said, "Read this first part at the top." I took the laptop from him, and started to read.

_The __**Slender Man**__ (See other names to the right) is a creature or being with various nebulously defined characteristics and abilities. Slender Man was first mentioned in Something Awful Forum's "Create Paranormal Images". Slender Man generally appears (in modern times) as a tall man in a black or grey suit, red or black tie, and white shirt, with no eyes, mouth, or clearly defined facial features. It has no hair, and generally has normal-looking bare hands. Slenderman typically is depicted in imagery and literature as between 6 and 15 feet tall, depending on the situation, and in video as around 6-7 feet tall. Because of its inexact nature, and differences between series, no one has yet determined what it is..._

I stopped reading at that point, and instead stared at the screen blankly. "That's…that him." I murmured to myself, furrowing my brow. "But…but if he was created on a forum…" I looked at Marcus, puzzled. "How is he real then?" Marcus took the computer back and started up another search.

"He was first mentioned on the Something Awful Forums, and gained popularity from there, but that's not where he originated from. He's based upon old German Myths about something called Der Ritter. There's a few more, such as Der Großmann, but that's not what's important.

"Upon his rise to popularity, he's all over the internet now; people write stories about him, draw pictures, and there's games made after him too, as you mentioned. One of the more popular games is Slender, where you're in a forest and must collect eight pages before Slenderman kills you."

"Wait, what exactly does this have to do with my dream, if he isn't real?" I asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"There's a lot of evidence that proves that he's real; first of them being how he kills his victims. He usually impales them on tree branches in the forest, but there's a few other ways he goes about it, some of which I'm sure you really don't want to know." He tossed a glance at me, and, guessing by look on my face, he didn't continue with that subject.

"There's also been sightings of him; mostly from little kids, because he tries to befriend them, then ends up taking them away and kills them. Adults usually don't pay attention to this sort of thing, thinking it's the children's imagination, until they actually disappear."

"So this has to do with me…why?" I asked.

"Because, you've seen him." I stared at him blankly. "You said that you saw someone in the forest, wearing a black suit with a red tie, right?" He asked. I nodded slowly. "And you said that he appeared in your dream, correct?" Again, I nodded, now scared to hear where he was going with this.

"Now, tell me this. Since you saw him, have you had any of these symptoms; migraines, nose bleeds, coughing, paranoia, insomnia, nausea, or insanity?" I could feel the color drain from my face as I nodded, my eyes widening.

"Nausea, paranoia, a-and migraines." I murmured. He nodded slowly, standing up.

"Those are the symptoms of Slender sickness; meaning that Slenderman is following you."

**AN: Another link to the resources I used~!  
**

**Wikia - wiki/Slender_Man  
**

**And I have never seen any of the Marble Hornets videos; I was getting the information based upon the Wiki entry on the Slender Man Wikia page X33 If I'm wrong on anything, feel free to tell me X'D  
**

**Thanks, and don't forget to R&R~!  
**


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

I refused to believe a word of what Marcus said. This Slenderman thing was too…it didn't seem real. I stayed for only a few more moments at his house before deciding to leave, giving him my email so we could stay in touch. (I didn't use my cellphone that much; just for emergencies and texting friends to ask questions about school work or something.)

I hurried home, practically sprinting the rest of the way home as it came into view. Slamming the door shut behind me, I instantly went for my laptop and spent half of the night doing research on Slenderman, trying to prove…Hell, I don't even know.

After seeing many topics relating back to the Something Awful Forums, I buckled down and went to check it out myself. I read everything, even posts that didn't have anything to do with Slenderman. Every page, every post, every word. After reading the majority of the forum, I sat back and rubbed my eyes. So, Slenderman was thought up on this forum, for some contest…Hm. Which meant he wasn't real.

Right?

I closed my laptop and rested my arm over my eyes, settling back against the couch, a sense of uneasiness creeping up on me. Why would there be so much talk about this if it wasn't real? I had to admit, the whole story and idea of Slenderman was rather intriguing, but…Marcus told me that the Slenderman was real, and that he was following me. Was this just some kind of sick joke he played on people? Or is it just me, because I'm obviously gullible enough to believe it?

A sudden bump from behind the wall made me jump to my feet, eyes wide and heart pounding. Oh God. What the _hell_ was that?! From the corner of my eye, I saw mom's door open, and she shuffled out towards the bathroom. I sighed and visibly relaxed, dropping back onto the couch with my head in my hands. I was overreacting. I need to calm down, before I give myself a heart attack or something.

I looked up towards the second floor, which disappeared into a thick darkness. I hadn't dared to sleep in my room since the first nightmare. I felt childish, like a small child getting scared by the 'boogie man' and running to sleep in their parents room. I stood up and, very slowly, made my way up the stairs, gripping the handrail so tightly my knuckles turned white. God, it was so fucking dark up here…

The moment I reached the top step, I flicked the hall light on, and ran down the hall as quietly as I could, almost slamming my bedroom door open in my haste. I turned that light on as well, and leaned against the wall. Nothing was there, but the window was cracked open, and I shivered. I didn't remember opening the window…Maybe mom did? I shrugged it off and shut it, locked it, and drew the curtains. I turned to my bed, neatly made and looking very comfortable, and fell onto it, falling asleep the instant my head hit the pillow.

The first thing I noticed, when I awoke, was that it was pitch black in my room. My first reaction was that I huddled deeper into the blankets, covering all but my eyes and nose, and shuddered. Why was it dark? I fell asleep with my light on, and the hall light was on as well…Slowly, shakily, I shook the covers off, reaching towards my nightstand for the flashlight.

It wasn't there.  
I sucked in a slow, deep breath, and stood up. Fear welled up in me as I looked around the dark room, and the fear threatened to reduce me to a curled up ball of tears and screams on the floor. _No._ I refused to be daunted by this silly fear. Shaking, I easily leapt over a pile of clothes and threw the curtains to the window open, sighing loudly. Though it was the middle of the night, the snow reflected what little moonlight shone, and gave off enough light to at least see my bedroom door. I stood up and looked around, stiffening; not a single one of my flashlights was in here.

With my hand moving along the wall, I made my way through my door and down the hallway. I tensed, shuffling my feet across the floor as I reached the spot where _HE_ had been. To my relief, he wasn't there, and I swiftly jumped down the stairs two at a time.

_Maybe it's just a power outage,_ I thought meekly as I looked around the living room. But it couldn't be; usually mom would already be up, lighting candles around the house. But her bedroom door was ajar, and I somehow knew she wasn't there; a cold wind swept through the house, and I shivered.

_I'll go to the neighbors,_ I decided, starting towards the door. I heard footsteps behind me, and smiled slightly. "Oh thank god, Mom, I was starting to freak o-" I stopped midsentence, my stomach tightening.

Nobody was there.

I turned on my heel and bolted towards the door, throwing it open. My jaw dropped, and I had to snap my teeth together to keep from screaming.

It was absolutely, utterly dark. I couldn't even see a few inches out of the house. I slammed the door shut again, trying not to hyperventilate. Oh god. Something was wrong; REALLY wrong. I wanted to scream, I wanted to holler for someone, ANYONE.

But I knew it'd be useless.

In a last, panicked attempt, I ran into the kitchen. I heard footsteps behind me, but I just sped up, grabbing the first drawer I found and yanking it open. I felt weak with relief as I wrapped my fingers around the cold flashlight, and flipped it on. The footsteps ceased immediately, and I swung the light around the house.

With a sudden rush of adrenaline and anger, I squared my shoulders, and screamed. "SHOW YOURSELF, YOU FUCKING COWARD!"

I had no idea what – or who – I was yelling at.

But oh. They heard me.

The voices started as a whisper; I guess I put it off as the wind. But now, I could hear them; distorted, faint, indistinct voices that murmured in my ears.

"…Coming…"

"Can't run…"

"…Kill…"

I sucked in a breath and blew it out slowly, surprised as I saw it puff in front of my face in a cloud of moisture; I hadn't realized the temperature had dropped so drastically. I swallowed the lump in my throat and turned round and round, trying to find the source of the voices. They were growing increasingly louder, and I covered my ears as they reached screaming pitch. With the flashlight still in hand, I covered my ears and thrust my shoulder against the backdoor, slamming it open and bolting away from the voices, my eyes shut tight.

I wanted to scream, to cry, to curl up on the ground and wait for comfort, but I knew that would be useless. I kept running, blind to everything around me, only stopping as the voices faded until they were just distant echoes on the edge of my mind, then disappeared to nothing. I panted, doubling over and putting my hands on my knees as I tried to catch my breath.

The rustle of bushes made me look up, and, with a jolt, I realized I'd run straight into the forest. I looked around warily, shining the flashlight around the trees. Which way had I come from? How deep was I? Taking a few short breaths, I turned and headed in the opposite direction than I was facing. What the hell did I get myself into now?

I rounded a bush, looking around before continuing on. There was no hint of where I had come from; no crushed grass, no stamped down shrubs…nothing. I heard something behind me and sped up, panting with fear.

Finally, I came up to a line of trees, too close together to get through. I quickly turned around, beginning to hyperventilate.

And then I saw it.

Standing between two trees up ahead was him; black suit, red tie, face shrouded in shadows still. If I thought I was scared before, I could've laughed. I felt my heart stop, and my breath caught in my throat, making it hard to breathe. Oh god oh god, it's him. He's going to kill me. This man, the one who killed Eliza, the one-

"_**Why do you fear me?"**_

The voice resonated inside my head, sounding oddly familiar, but I couldn't remember where from. I backpedaled a few paces, my back hitting the tree line as I stared wide eyed. I could literally feel my pupils dilate as he stepped closer. He was going to kill me; I was going to die in this damned forest, and-

"_**There is no need to fear me."**_

I was more than just fearful; I was scared shitless! He'd moved even closer, standing only a few yards ahead of me. At that exact moment, my vision blurred and faded to black; as if something had covered my eyes. A shriek tore from my throat finally. Something grabbed my shoulders and I twisted and turned, writhing around, hoping desperately that whatever was holding me would let go. I had to get away, I had to get away, I had to-

"Sierra!"

"I opened my bleary eyes to see my ceiling. Mom was sitting in front of me, holding my wrists, staring at me with a worried and concerned expression. I was drenched in sweat, and shaking with fear.

"Are you alright? You were screaming in your sleep, and thrashing about like-"

"It was just a n-nightmare." I cut her off, stuttering slightly. Her expression hardened, and she frowned.

"No, it's more than that. I'm calling Dr. Hatten today to see if I can get you in to see him." Without another word, she stood up and left the room. I sat on my bed, staring blankly at the wall as I slowly calmed down, thinking about the dream. Maybe Slenderman was real; it isn't a coincidence that I'd had two dreams about him, as well as seeing him for real…

And suddenly, the voice; HIS voice, hit me; I know where I'd heard it from.

It was the voice of my father; the man who had been dead for seven years.


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

I was done.

I was SOO fucking done.

How DARE that…that thing, use my father's voice to speak to me?! That hit a nerve; I threw the comforter off and stormed down the stairs, ignoring my mom as she called for me. I didn't care; I wanted to punch that fucker in the face, even if it cost me my life. I hardly noticed that Katie and the others were sitting on the couch, and ran up to me as I stormed down the stairs. No, I was focused on one thing and one thing only.

I slammed the backdoor open and stomped out into the cold yard, my toes stinging in the snow. I marched on, fuming, towards the forest. I didn't listen as Katie yelled my name; I didn't stop when I heard footsteps running towards me.

I only stopped when Jeremy football tackled me to the ground, making me faceplant into the snow. Still, I tried to go. I tried kicking him off and running towards the forest, now a few mere yards ahead of me; I could see into the dark greenness of the forest, and I _knew_ he was there.

"Sierra!" I'd gotten back to my feet, but Jeremy grabbed my arm again and held fast. I tried to pull my arm away, but it was no use; despite Jeremy's chubby demeanor, he was strong; even more so than Cameron, who played football for two years in Middle school.

"God damn it!" Jeremy grabbed my other arm and yanked it, turning me around to face him. "What the HELL is wrong with you?!" He asked, glaring at me. Behind his glare, though, I knew he was worried sick. I stared into his eyes for a long time before giving up finally.

I felt my hard gaze soften as tears welled up and rolled down my face, and I sank to my knees with a sob. "I want it to end!" I wailed, sobbing hysterically. Jeremy's grip had loosened, and he dropped to his knees as well; I moved forward and wrapped my arms around his waist, burying my face in his shoulder and crying.

I could feel Cameron and Katie watching me apprehensively; ever since I was a small child, I was never one to cry; be it a skinned knee, or a broken arm, or even the death of my father, the most they'd ever seen from me was a few tears. Now, hugging Jeremy, wailing pathetically, I must've looked ridiculous.

We sat there for a good ten minutes, me sobbing hysterically, Jeremy rubbing my back comfortingly, Cameron and Katie watching nervously. Finally, when I was reduced to hiccups and an occasional sniffle, Jeremy stood me up and led me back into the house. I felt more embarrassed than angry or upset now…I just wanted to curl up and disappear.

Katie and Cameron gave me quick hugs and bid goodbye, since my mom was taking me to Dr. What's his face. I watched them leave, averting my gaze when they looked back at me, and I shut the door and headed into the bathroom. I turned on the shower, turning the heat up almost all the way, and got in. My toes ached from the temperature change, but I didn't care.

I spent an hour in the shower, quickly changed into a pair of jeans and a loose long sleeved shirt, and got into mom's car. I didn't know or care where we were going; I started to doze off as soon as the car had warmed up.

I didn't really remember Dr. Hatten, the therapist I'd gone to when I was in first grade, only that he was a very plump man…and that he was always happy, despite what was happening. Which pissed me off to NO end. I don't even know why.

We sat in the waiting room of his office, with brightly colored walls and coloring books for children. "Dear god, I think I'm a little old for this guy!" I groaned, watching as the TV channel went from some commercial about a ridiculous toy to Dora the Explorer.

"He takes patients of any age, Sierra." Mom said, and I slumped down in my seat. God, this was going to be a LONG day. The door ahead of us opened, and there he was. His black hair, with silver streaks, smoothed down, bright eyes shining, and a huge smile plastered on his face. Oh dear god this was worse than Slenderman.

"Sierra Makson!" He greeted me, coming up and shaking my hand furiously. "My, I haven't seen you since you were just a foot tall!" He held his hand up to his thigh and laughed. "My, you've grown so much!" I gave a weak smile and tossed a glance back at my mom as he led me into his room. I hated the fact that parents weren't allowed with you, unless you were under twelve. I was afraid I'd end up punching him because of his happy-go-lucky attitude.

In his room, which was surprisingly barren of bright colors, there were two seats; one big armchair, and one of those couch-chair things that are seen in movies or TV shows with therapists. God, I didn't know that they were actually used. I sat down on the couch-chair thing (whatever the fuck it's called, I don't really care), and he sat down in the chair and read over a small pad of paper in his hand.

Finally, he looked up at me expectantly, and we stared at each other for a good few seconds, in a very awkward silence. "So," he finally stated, seeing as how I wasn't really planning on saying anything first, "what exactly has been bothering you?"

"If I told you, you wouldn't believe me." I stated flatly.

"Ohh, I don't think so." He chimed, winking. I groaned inwardly.

"Bet me." I growled, slumping back on the couch.

"Just tell me." He urged, leaning forward slightly. I sighed, sitting back up and giving him a hard glare.

"Fine, but if I tell you, I don't want a word spoken to my mother about it." He blinked and opened his mouth to talk, but I cut him off. "Not because it's something so horrendous that I did or anything; she'll just send me off to a psychiatric ward or something for years on end." He looked at me for a while, scribbling something on his pad of paper, before replying.

"It's my duty to let the parental guardian know what happens in here." He started slowly. I slumped backwards again, crossed my arms, and clamped my mouth shut. There was no way in hell I was going to tell him, then, if he- "But I think for this time, I'll let it slide." He finished, winking at me again. Huh. Maybe this guy wasn't as big of a douche as I thought.

I sat up again, and looked him in the eyes. "I've been having nightmares of this…thing." I said, tripping over my words. How the hell am I supposed to explain this to someone? That's WHY I didn't tell Katie and the others! "I'm pretty sure I know what it is, but…it doesn't seem possible."

"What is this thing?" He asked, his smile fading slightly.

"It's…well, I think it's this thing called Slenderman…" I muttered, looking away, waiting for him to scoff and say something to contradict me…IF he even knew what Slenderman was.  
"Go on." He urged. I looked back up at him, and his smile was gone completely, replaced with a serious look.

"W-well…he appears in my dreams a lot and scares the living hell out of me…but I can never see his face. It's always covered in shadows or something."

"Tell me what he looks like." Dr. Hatten said, writing something on his pad of paper.

"He's really tall and thin…he wears a black suit, with a red tie…" I tried to remember anything else about him but, as usual, that's all I could remember. "I don't know what his face looks like because I can never see it." I said. Dr. Hatten nodded and began to write on his pad of paper. I began to tap my hand against my thigh again, looking around the room.

"Nervous tick?" My gaze snapped back to him, and he pointed with his pencil towards my tapping hand. I nodded and folded my hands under my armpits. He wrote something else on his paper, then continued to ask questions about my nightmares and about Slenderman.

An hour later, the session was over, and he gave his report to my mom. I waited tensely for him to talk about the Slenderman, but, to my relief, he just said that something I had seen was giving me these nightmares, and that I could come back if I wanted to or not. To be honest, that wasn't as bad as I thought…although I have no fucking clue what we'd be talking about if I do come back. And maybe it's just me, but I think Dr. Hatten knows more about Slenderman than he's letting on.


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The ride home was quiet; I didn't want to talk about anything, mom didn't ask about anything. A mutual agreement, if you will. The second we reached home, I told her I was going to a friend's, and walked straight to Marcus' house. Who else was I going to tell about my dream? (And I don't mean Dr. Hatten, so don't even bring that up.)

It didn't take as long to get there this time, since I knew where it was. He was outside, talking to a few friends, and I hesitated, wondering if I should wait for another time. As I turned to leave, he called me over. "Sierra!" I sighed inwardly. Damn it. I didn't like talking to new people, or being introduced to new people. This is why I hardly MEET new people…

I turned and walked up to Marcus, smiling slightly. "What brings you here, Sierra?" He asked. My smile faded and I tapped my hand on my thigh slightly. Before I could talk, he cut me off. "Slenderman again?" I blinked and glanced at the people behind him.

"Shouldn't you keep your voice down?" I asked nervously. Marcus shook his head and gestured towards the group of kids behind him, who were now looking at me with interest.

"No, these guys know about Slenderman, so it doesn't matter." Well then. Does that count as having a support group? "What about Slenderman?" Marcus asked.

"Another dream." I muttered, sighing. I didn't really want to talk about this in front of those other people. Not that I didn't like them, it's just…I don't know them, so…whatever.

"A Slenderman dream?" One of the people from the group asked. I looked up to see a stocky girl looking at me, her short brown hair spiked with a dark red streak along the bangs. I blinked and nodded slowly, flinching a little.

"Really?" Another member, a tall, thin boy with tanned skin and short blond hair asked. "What are they like?"

"Scary as hell." I said, cracking a slight smile that faded quickly.

"Do you actually see Slenderman?" The spiky haired girl asked. I nodded.

"Not entirely…I can never see his head, it's always covered in shadows." I replied.

"Why are you tapping your thigh?" The other girl in the group, a medium height girl with ruler straight dirty blond hair and big glasses, asked, blinking. I instantly crossed my arms and hid my hands.

"Nervous tick." I mumbled.

"So, is that why you came over?" Marcus asked. I nodded.

"Yes, and no. My mom took me to a therapist because of the dreams." I said, sighing.

"Really?" Again, the tall, thin guy asked. I nodded. "What did you tell him?"

"I told him it was Slenderman." They all stared at me, and I shrugged. "He thought it was because of the Slender game that I was freaking out, though."

"Interesting." The last guy in the group, a big, burly looking guy with medium length dark hair, said. "Do you just see him in dreams?" I thought for a few moments before shaking my head.

"No…I've actually seen him. A while ago." I saw all of their eyes widen, and I felt uncomfortable again. There was a long, awkward silence, broken by Marcus as he cleared his throat.

"Maybe I should introduce these guys to you." He said, gesturing towards them. "That's Sarah," He pointed to the tall girl with glasses, "Duncan," The burly guy, "Marissa," the girl with spiky hair, "and Andrew," the tanned kid. I waved a little as Marcus introduced me.

"So, you've actually seen Slenderman?" Marissa asked, crossing her arms. I nodded slowly. "Where?"

"Out on the edge of the forest one morning." I replied.

"And he was just…standing there?" Marissa pressed. I nodded. "Why didn't he attack you or something?"

"He doesn't just attack everybody." Sarah said pointedly, sighing. "Sometimes he makes them go insane, or he'll stalk them for a while before killing them, or he'll befriend little kids and take them once the trust him." She continued. Well then. Slenderman was quite the gentleman, huh, befriending kids like that.

"The reason I came to tell you about the dream," I cut in before Marcus could talk, "was that he talked to me." Again, silence.

"He spoke?" Duncan asked. "What did he say? What did he sound like?" Ugh. More questions. Was this going to turn into a Question and Answer session? (Although it's partially my fault, for bringing it up…)

"He was talking about…he asked me why I was scared…then went on to say that I don't have to fear him." I recounted, shuddering slightly.

"What did he sound like?" Duncan asked again.

"Like…like my dad." I shifted my feet slightly. "Who's been dead for seven years." Sarah nodded slowly, thinking.

"Well…" she started, drawing the attention back to her. (thank god.) "I read somewhere that Slenderman uses the voice of someone close to you, or something, so that its easier to befriend little kids…" She shrugged. "Maybe he's trying to befriend you?" Probably not after the long line of words I thought of after my breakdown this morning.

"So, you've seen him in the forest, had dreams about him, and he spoke to you…" Andrew listed off. "Well, seems like you're quite popular with him."

"Great, just what I wanted. Maybe I can give him a hug and we can run off into the forest together." I snorted. "But why me? What the hell have I done that makes him interested in me?" Silence again. God damn it.

"In cases of Slenderman stalking adults, said person usually went through some sort of traumatic experience, like losing a family member or something." Sarah offered, shrugging.

"But it wasn't traumatic when my dad died." I said quietly. "I hardly knew him; he was always away on business, and I only saw him once a year, besides when I would video chat with him. When they called and said he had died in that bus rollover, I wasn't overly sad…It sounds cruel when I say that, but I didn't really KNOW him." I finished, staring at the ground.

"Maybe there's something about you that interests him." Marissa said.

"Yes, because I'm a very interesting person. The most interesting thing that's happened to me in years, besides being stalked by Slenderman, was that I broke my arm in fifth grade after falling out of a tree."

"Any weird dreams or anything?" Marcus asked. I shook my head.

"Nope. I'm a pretty boring person." I said, sighing.

"Did…did you ever see him…when you were younger?" Sarah asked, cocking her head slightly. I thought for a few moments, furrowing my brow. Had I? I can't remember ever seeing anything weird…

"As far as I know, no…" I said slowly. "I can't really remember…"

"Do you have any weird fears?" The question struck me as odd, and I cocked an eyebrow at Sarah. "Sometimes Slenderman can induce odd fears to pop up." She said, shrugging.

"I have an insanely bad fear of the dark, but I've had that since as long as I can remember." Marcus shrugged, looking over at Sarah.

"Common fear." He reasoned, but Sarah didn't look convinced.

"He's coming." The voice made me jump, and I turned to see Marcus' little sister staring at me with her huge eyes.

"Wh-what?" I asked nervously.

"He's coming." She repeated, drawing out the word 'coming'.

"Sadie, go inside and leave us alone please." Marcus said, sighing heavily. She stared at me for a few moments longer before heading inside, and closing the door quietly behind her. "Don't mind her," Marcus commented, turning back to me, "She does that to scare people. Since I'm always talking about Him, she finds it funny when people freak out at that."

I wasn't convinced. Her voice had dropped a good few notches, and repeated itself over and over in my head. _He's coming…_I shuddered. "Sierra?"

"Huh?" I jerked around and looked at Marcus.

"I asked if you'd seen him any other times besides those, or if you felt paranoid or felt like you were being watched?" He asked again. I nodded again.

"Yeah, a few times I've felt paranoid and felt like I'm being watched. But I told you all the times that I've seen him." I reported, nodding. Before Marcus could ask another question, I held my hand up for him to stop. "If you don't mind me asking, what do you guys…do? Do you just like, get together and talk about Slenderman?"

Marcus shook his head. "It's a little more complicated than that."

"More like a lot." Marissa muttered. Marcus ignored her.

"It's…well, it's kind of weird to say, but…we're hunting Slenderman."

And I thought this day couldn't have gotten weirder.

"Hunting him." I said again, and he nodded.

"Call us crazy, but we hunt him. We've been keeping track of every report of people saying they've seen him, or that they feel paranoid, or something, even if it's fake. We record mysterious disappearances of kids, unexplained murders of people, everything."

Honestly, I don't think I had a right to call him crazy, considering I was being stalked by an entity that was trying to kill me.

"Why? What do you plan on doing with all this? What is your goal for doing all of this?"

"We plan on finding the Slenderman." Marissa stated.

"And then what?" I asked incredulously. "What if you find him? He'll kill you!"

"We want proof."

"Do you think he'll let you get away with proof that he exists?"

"Probably not, but it's worth the shot."

"Really? So losing your life over this just for a few seconds of footage is worth it?" Marcus let out a slow breath, looking at me again with a serious look on his face.

"Look, if you're just going to make fun of us, then you can just-"

"I'm not making fun of you." I said, looking at him dead seriously. "I just want an answer."

Marcus watched me for a few moments, then nodded. "Yes, it is worth it. Maybe not for our benefit, but for others. Even if they think it's fake, it's better than nothing." I nodded, satisfied with the answer.

"So, why did you want to know that?" Sarah asked, cocking her eyebrows at me. I probably would've smiled if it wasn't for the circumstances.

"Because I want to help."


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Katie disappeared a few weeks later.

I'd started to hang out with Marcus and his friends more often, learning as much about Slenderman as I could and helping out any way possible. I could tell Katie and the others were a little disappointed, but they never said anything; maybe they could tell how serious this was and didn't want to bother me? I don't know. I told them every detail of every dream I had about Slenderman. They weren't really that frequent now; maybe one every…eight or nine days.

When Katie was reported missing, just last night, I didn't really know what to say or do; I could only sit and stare at the police officer blankly, as I tried to process what the hell he'd just said. When it hit me, I just…freaked out. I yelled at him to look harder, look everywhere, tell me anything, but they couldn't. I knew where she was; I knew _HE_ took her. But who could I tell? The police? Like they'd believe me.

Now, sitting at home on the couch with my mom, we watched the news report come on about Katie.

"…No signs of fourteen year old Katherine Mugeir, reported missing just last night. Police are looking for any evidence of her disappearance, but so far have only found a trail of footprints leading into the forest and disappearing. There are no clues as to say who those footprints belonged to, and Police are trying hard to follow the trail. As of last night's late snowfall, though, it's proving to be tough. If you know anything, please call the number below."

I nestled closer to mom, and she wrapped her arm around me and shut the TV off. We sat in silence for a long time, just sitting in each others company, before finally mom stood up and stretched. She bent down and kissed my forehead, murmuring, "They'll find her, I know it. Just have faith," before heading into her room.

I stood up and locked all the doors and windows before sitting back down, and staring at the wall. I sat there for about an hour before turning onto my side and pulling my knees up to my chest and sitting there. First Eliza, now Katie. Who would be next? Me? I shuddered at the thought. Katie had absolutely nothing to do with Slenderman, and if she did she would've TOLD me. Why did he go after her?

I jolted up into a sitting position to see cold sunlight filtering in through the windows, and I blinked. Had I fallen asleep? This was the first time I'd had a dreamless night. I stood up and went into the bathroom, glancing at myself in the mirror. My hair was in a low, sloppy ponytail and, if I could've, I probably would've laughed. I pulled it out and brushed my hair before turning and settling myself on the couch again.

Again, I sat there and stared at the wall for a few hours, doing nothing. I jumped slightly when mom came out of her room, fully dressed for work. She hugged me tightly and kissed my forehead again, before leaving. And I was alone. For a good hour and a half, I watched the TV blankly. It was Saturday, and I didn't want to go anywhere.

I guess somewhere along the line I dozed off, because I jerked back up into a sitting position with my eyes wide. Without thinking, I ran upstairs and got dressed before running out of the house and going to Marcus'. I knocked on the door, tapping my hand on my thigh nervously. Come on, he HAD to be here! He had-

Relief flooded through me as he opened the door, and I hugged him. "Sierra, are you alright?" He asked. I shook my head, feeling close to tears again. God damn it, I don't WANT to cry again.

"He took Katie." I managed to say, my voice catching in my throat.

"How do you know?" He asked, blinking.

"I-I don't know. I just do. He took her, but he hasn't killed her yet." I said, blinking. Marcus stared at me for a few moments before nodding slowly.

"I…guess that makes sense…"

"No, it doesn't!" I said. I cringed at the whine I heard in my voice, but I continued anyways. "Katie has nothing to do with Slenderman; she's never seen him, or had dreams about him, or anything!"

"Then why do you think she was taken?" Marcus asked, looking confused.

"I don't know…it's just…I know. I don't know how, I just do." I bit my bottom lip and sniffled a little, feeling childish. "I just…she's gone, but she's not dead. I can tell…"

I blinked and watched Marcus leave the door, and stood there for a moment. What the hell was he doing? I thought of following him inside and yelling 'what the fuck', but he returned a moment later with a few Kleenex's in his hands. He handed them to me, and I brought one up to my nose, surprised as I saw blood on it when I pulled it back.

"Nosebleed." Marcus said, motioning me to follow him inside. I put the Kleenex's up to my nose and followed him, closing the door behind me. He led me through a neat looking living room and up a staircase to his room. He had a lot of movie posters plastered all over the walls, as well as pictures and newspaper clippings consisting missing children reports and strange murders.

He opened his laptop and went to the news feed, pulling up a report about Katie. We both read it over a few times, and again, I got the feeling that she had been taken by HIM. Marcus was a little more skeptical, but he believed me; pulling out a cellphone, he left the room for a moment and called Sarah, telling her and the others to come over.

I threw my bloody Kleenex's in the trash can and grabbed a few more, looking around the room again. One picture caught my eye, and I walked over to it to get a better look. It was a very crudely drawn man next to a few trees. I guess it was Slenderman because the man was as tall as the trees. In sloppy hand writing, the words reading, 'Always Watching'.

"Sadie drew that." I turned and looked up at Marcus, who was leaning against the doorway. He walked forward and looked at the picture as well. "I showed her a picture of one of the papers in the Slender game, and asked her to draw it. She did a pretty good job copying it if you ask me."

I nodded slowly, feeling a sudden wave of apprehension wash over me. I don't know why, but I looked out the window at the forest…and saw someone.

She was staring directly at Marcus' window, at me. I dropped the bloody Kleenex and stared back, the breath catching in my throat. I blinked, and she'd turned around to leave.

"Katie." Sudden realization hit my as I whispered her name, and before Marcus could ask I was already bolting out of his room, down the stairs, and out the door with him in pursuit.

"Sierra, wait!" I heard him yell as I burst out his front door. I almost ran into Marissa and the others as I ran, but I ignored them; I ran right past them, across the street, and headed towards the forest. I could hear them screaming my name and heard them following me, but I didn't care; I saw Katie, which meant she was still alive and there was a chance of saving her.

I could feel one of them try to grab the back of my shirt, but I reached the forest and pelted into the trees. Sarah shrieked my name, but I kept going, going deeper and deeper into the darkness. "KATIE!" I screamed, skidding to a stop and looking around wildly. I saw her; I knew she was here…but where?

"KATIE!" I screamed again, desperate now. I ran on, gasping for air now. I could hear footsteps somewhere around me, but I couldn't tell which direction they were coming from or who they belonged to. I ran for what seemed like an hour before stopping, looking around nervously. It was dark, despite it being very sunny when I entered. The trees grew close together, and the undergrowth was thick here.

I panted and looked around again, stiffening slightly; I moved closer to the tree beside me, and my eyes widened. A smeared, bloody handprint was on the tree. "Katie!" I yelled again, my voice hoarse from screaming and running.

"Hello Sierra." I stiffened as a quiet voice came from behind me, and turned around.

And there she stood.

Katie's hair was a tangled mess of twigs and leaves, her eyes wide and bright. Her clothes were torn and tattered, and blood smeared her arms, legs, and face, as well as staining her shirt. I sucked in a breath and took a step back; she had a small smile on her face, and her hands were behind her back.

"K-Katie!" I managed to say, my voice cracking. "Oh my god you're okay! Come on, we have to get back to town, before-"

"I can't go back."

"Why not?" Katie's smile widened slightly, and she cocked her head.

"Because. I found him. He told me things. He told me the truth." I swallowed the lump in my throat.

"Wh-who's he?" I asked shakily.

"The Slenderman."

"Th-that doesn't matter! Come on, we can go back together, and you can get cleaned up, and-"

"I can't." Her smile disappeared for a heartbeat before reappearing, bigger than before.

"Then let me go back, I can get help!"

"I can't do that, either." The way her smile widened again made me sick, and I took a step back.

"Wh-why not…?"

"Because. I just can't." She unfolded her arms from behind her back, and revealed a large knife in one hand. I sucked in another breath as she took a step closer again, her head cocked to the side, smile widening. "Come here." She said, her voice calm and quiet. Without hesitating, I turned on my heel and ran, which was probably a bad idea.

Katie shrieked with what I guessed was anger and charged after me. I was already tired from running through the forest the first time; now, with adrenaline pumping through me, I moved faster, jumping over a fallen tree and charging on. I don't know what was wrong with Katie…all I knew was that she was gone. Mentally, she was unstable now; apparently, because she was screaming and charging after me with a knife in hand.

I heard her catching up, and I screamed as loud as I could; probably a bad idea, but in any case, it helped I guess. My throat burned as I ran but I kept going. "YOU CAN RUN BUT YOU CAN'T HIDE!" Katie shrieked.

My foot caught on something and I tripped, stumbling forward and falling. Before I could get up, Katie was in front of my, smiling psychotically. I scooted backwards, eyes widening as my back hit a tree. Katie moved closer, holding the knife up.

"Goodbye, Sierra." She said, her voice taking on a sing-song type of tone. In one last attempt I screamed as loudly as possible and jerked to the side as Katie lunged forward with the knife. Pain seared through my arm as I felt the knife make contact, and I shrieked louder as blood began to pour down my arm.

"You're only delaying the inevitable!" Katie taunted, jerking backwards. I wailed again, tears spilling out of my eyes as I grabbed my arm. "Goodbye." She said again, pulling her arm back. I shut my eyes and held my good arm up to my face, shielding it from the blow.

Gunshots fired, and I jumped, uncovering my eyes again.

Katie looked as surprised as me; for a moment, I saw her sanity come back, and she looked horrified at what she'd done. Looking down at her shirt, a bloodstain was forming, growing bigger and bigger quickly. She looked back at me and gasped; her eyelids grew heavy a moment later, and she fell backwards, the knife dropping onto the forest floor.

I could only sit and stare at Katie's body as it twitched, and she stopped breathing altogether, staring up at the treetops. I heard people moving through the forest behind me, but I didn't really notice; finally, my brain caught up with me, and I screamed again.

Katie tried to kill me.

And now she was dead.

A police officer appeared from behind me and knelt down beside me. He was saying something to me, but I could only hear the blood roaring in my ears. Without thinking I lunged forward and wrapped my arms around his neck, forgetting for a moment that I was bleeding heavily from my left one, and cried.


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

The next two and a half months passed by quickly, to my surprise.

Right after I had bawled my eyes out on the officer's shoulder, I was rushed away to the hospital. (Apparently the knife Katie had was old and rusty, as well as covered in dirt, so I needed to be treated for that; I had to stay in the hospital for two days.) There was a lot of talk about what had actually happened with Katie. Most people suspected that she'd just gone crazy, or something. I thought about telling the officer about what she said, but then what? Explain to him what Slenderman was and get thrown in a psycho place?

Cameron and Jeremy moved away as well. They moved to a small town about thirty some miles away from here, since their parents were worried about what would happen next. My mom was going to follow along with them, but I begged her to stay, explaining about Marcus and the rest of them. After about three hours worth of begging, she caved and decided to stay.

Katie's funeral was held late January. Almost all of the school had shown up to grieve and pay their respects. A lot of people thought I wouldn't show because of what happened; but it's not like I can throw away the years of friendship because of something she couldn't have stopped from happening.

After the funeral, I spent the most of my time at Marcus'. I didn't even have to say a word for them to know Slenderman was behind what had happened…Marcus spent a few hours on his computer everyday, researching cases of people going mad and killing without having any found reason. There wasn't that many, to my surprise. Only a few hundred in the past twenty years.

Now, sitting in the middle of Marcus' living room floor, staring at old newspaper clippings, I couldn't help but laugh inwardly. This all seemed so surreal; like we were all living in one huge horror movie that wouldn't end, that had no pause and no stop…

"Sierra?" I jumped a little when Marissa prodded my shoulder with her pencil. I turned and looked back at her, cocking an eyebrow.

"Huh?"

"You were daydreaming or something." I rolled my eyes and looked back at the newspaper clipping I held in my hand. It dated back a few years ago, and was about a small boy who had disappeared, his father soon afterwards to look for him. Neither of them was ever found. I sighed and dropped the clipping, rubbing my eyes.

"Just tired." I muttered, stretching as best as I could with my arm put in a sling.

"Maybe you should head home, then." Sarah commented, leaning over the back of her chair. I cast a glance outside, into the pitch black darkness.

"There is no way in hell I'm going to walk home." I stated, leaning my head back against the couch. I should've gone home sooner, but I can't stand being home alone anymore; it freaks the hell out of me and I need to talk to somebody, somehow.

"Maybe you can stay here?" Marcus asked, rolling his chair away from the computer. "Sarah, Marissa, Duncan, and Andrew stay the night here often; it wouldn't really be much trouble if you stayed as well." He continued, waving his hand. "My mom doesn't really care, as long as we don't drink or anything and we aren't loud."

"Oh darn, I was hoping to get some beer and have a party." Marissa complained, smirking slightly. I shrugged.

"Can I use your phone, then?" I asked, standing up. Marcus nodded and tossed it to me, and I went into the other room. Of course my mom was still at work, so the call wouldn't be that long; but for some reason, there was a lot of static when I dialed her number…

Finally the static cleared as she picked up the phone, and she went ahead and said yes I could stay. Hurray. Now I don't have to die on my way home tonight. When she hung up, though, there was more static, louder this time. I pulled the phone away from my ear and looked at it. Nothing looked wrong…

"I think there's something wrong with your phone, Marcus." I said as I set it down on his desk.

"What?"

"When I made the call there was a lot of static."

"Static?" I nodded, and Marcus furrowed his brow. "That's…weird."

"More Slender-signs." Marissa chided, smiling. "He makes electronics go haywire, like having static or making them stop working." She explained as I gave her a curious look. I nodded slowly.

Yay. More Slenderman. Because I was just in a _perfect _mood for it. "So." Duncan swung around from where he sat by the fireplace and looked at me. "You think that Slenderman is coming for you?"

"That's not funny Duncan." Sarah spat, glaring.

"I'm being serious." I stared at him for a few moments, blinking slowly.

"Possibly. But wouldn't he have killed me already?" I asked.

"Not quite." Andrew said, joining in. "It's said that he makes them go insane first, sometimes. In some cases, he stalks his victims for years before actually killing them." Man, these guys were just trying to make my night.

"Well, I'm pretty sure he's making me insane already." I said, holding up my fingers and counting off them. "There's the nightmares, the Slender sickness symptoms, taking my friends sanity, leading to her death…" I furrowed my brow. "Yep. I'm sure I'm next on the list."

There was a dead silence in the room following my words.

I blinked slowly. They were pressing about it; isn't that what they wanted to hear?

"Maybe he's just toying with you." Duncan conceited.

"I really don't think so." I muttered. "He's up to something."

"How do you know?" Sarah asked.

"Because of the nightmares."

Again, dead silence.

"Does he…does he tell you things?" Marissa asked, eyes wide. I shrugged.

"Depends."

"On what?"

"What he's feeling like that night." I stated. "Sometimes he just scares the shit out of me, other times I'm sitting in a dark room and he talks to me." I hesitated a little, biting my bottom lip.

"Anything else…?" Marcus asked, leaning a little closer. I shook my head.

"He shows me people that he's killed." I finally said.

"Like…?"

"How the hell should I know who? It's from years ago…" I looked back down at the paper clipping I'd put down; the boy and his dad. I shuddered. "Like this one." I picked it up and handed it to Marissa. "He showed me him killing the boy. The dad went crazy after seeing that and killed himself."

"Interesting…" Marcus murmured to himself, swiveling around in his chair.

"So, let me get this straight; he talks to you, and shows you people he's murdered?" Sarah asked disbelievingly. I nodded.

"Honestly, I'm just waiting for him to appear and kill me already. If he doesn't, I may just kill myself."

Silence again. Man, I'm just killing them tonight.

"One, two, Slender's coming for you." A quiet voice from the doorway made everybody stiffen; turning, I saw Sadie standing in the doorway, staring at me dark eyes, carrying a notepad. "Three, four, don't bother locking the door." Everybody was either too scared or freaked out to shut her up as she continued. "Five, six, he'll get his hunger fix. Seven, eight, better stay up late." Finally, she smiled, cocking her head to the side a little and pointing at me. "Nine, ten, never scream again."

"Sadie, bedtime!" From upstairs Marcus' mom called to Sadie, and her eyes visibly brightened; dropping the notebook that she held under her arm, she skipped to the stairs and jumped up them. I looked over at Marcus, shaking a little.

"Another thing she heard from you?" I asked, my voice quivering. He stared at me, shaking his head.

"No. I've never heard that before." He stuttered. I looked back at where she had been standing; the notepad that was on the floor had something scribbled on it; I crawled forward and grabbed it, feeling too sick to even read it. But when I did, I could only stare in fear.

On the pad of paper, was a forest; scribbled, rushed looking trees covered the paper. In the center was Slenderman, I'm guessing, standing with something in his hand; it looked like a person. I dropped the pad of paper and scooted back.

"Your sister is freaking me out, dude." I stammered, glaring at the notebook. Marcus and the others were staring at it too.

"She must be a proxy." Marissa said in a quiet voice.

"Proxy's aren't real, dumbass." Sarah retorted stiffly.

"Then how the hell did this happen?"

"Maybe she listens to Marcus too much."

"Don't blame me! I've never even heard that rhyme anywhere!"

I listened as they began to argue among themselves, staring at the paper still. Exactly how did she learn that? She couldn't have come up with it herself; it was too…creepy.

"Maybe he told her." I said quietly, making them all stop and stare at me.

"What?"

"Maybe Slenderman talks to your sister."

"She would've said something, then! She knows that we're 'obsessed' with it, as she says." Marcus said.

"Maybe he befriended her."

"That's impossible."

"So is Slenderman."

Another silence. Everybody exchanged nervous glances between themselves, and I could see them trying to come up with another excuse. Finally, Marcus looked at me with scared eyes.

"Do you really think that he's befriended her?" His voice shook a little, and I reluctantly nodded.

"If not that, then he's talked to her at least once, or she's seen him." I leaned back against the wall behind me, looking away.

"Then we have to find him!" Marissa stated, standing up.

"How?" Duncan asked, glaring at her.

"We go into the forest with a camera, and look for him!" She continued, glaring back.

"Then what? Wander around until we find him? What if he doesn't show? Then we'll be wandering around, lost, until we either die from starvation or dehydration, or until he comes and kills us!" Sarah retorted.

"We're not going to look for him!" Marcus said loudly before any more arguments could pop up between them. Everyone turned to look at him, and he met every one of their eyes with a glare.

"Why not?" Marissa asked coolly as he glared at her.

"Because. We need to know more about this first." He said.

"We know all that we can!" Marissa protested. "We've all read the articles, the forums, the posts, the stories! We know about him, we can do this!"

"We don't know where he appears the most." Marcus countered. Before Marissa could argue more, he turned his back on her. "No means no; you can go alone if you really want to, but none of us are going."

"Yet." I heard Marissa mutter, as everybody returned to their work.

…

After everybody had calmed down a little from the arguments, we all went to sleep. I didn't really want to sleep, because I knew there was a fifty-fifty chance he'd give me a nightmare. But sleep is hard to avoid, and I finally drifted long after everyone else had.

When my eyes opened again, everything was pitch black. I couldn't make out any shapes in the darkness, but when I felt around with my hands I could feel the trees. I blinked a few times, screwing up my eyes. Maybe it was just a trick, to try and freak me out.

Well it was working.

I felt fear begin to wash over me, and I tried to hold it down as I slowly stood up and felt my way between some trees. I saw a faint light up ahead, and tried to run towards it, tripping on something and catching myself on a tree. Jeez, this was more irritating than scary. I slowly made my way towards the light, willing it closer, to stay, to brighten, SOMETHING. I could tell I was getting closer; maybe this was just a normal dream, and not a nightmare from Slenderman?

As I finally came up to the light, I reached out towards it, willing it just a little closer…But it disappeared. Instead, I appeared in the middle of a clearing, with moonlight turning the grass pale greens and silver. I looked around warily. Trees enclosed the clearing, dark in comparison.

I knew this place; it was a forest about three hours drive away from town, called Deadwood Forest. I'd gone camping here when I was little…I turned in a slow circle, looking for any signs of movement, or anything that stood out.

Nothing.

I didn't dare relax or lose focus in case he was waiting; instead, I headed towards the trees again, quickening my pace as I moved. Apprehension slowly crept over me as I went under the cover of the trees, and everything went pitch black again. I quickly turned on my heel to go back into the clearing, but it was gone too. Swiveling back around, I began to trudge through the darkness, tapping my hand against my thigh fervently.

I have no idea how long I was walking, but it was long enough for me to lose patience. If this was a Slenderman nightmare, than good god he's getting bad at this shit. Maybe he should just kill me now and get it over with!

Something snapped behind me, and, despite what my common sense told me, I spun around and stared wide eyed.  
And he was there.

I was lucky this time, though, because I only saw his tie before I woke up, but I was still shaking and covered in a cold sweat. Swallowing nervously, I sat up and looked around. The sky outside the window was gray, and it was only about eight thirty. Everyone was still asleep thankfully.

Scooting out from under the blanket, I stood up and tip toed to the bathroom to wash my face. As I stared back at my reflection in the mirror, I noted that I looked a lot…well, different. My eyes had dark rings under them, and I looked scared out of my mind. Hmm. Definitely fitting for a horror movie. I sighed and stretched, popping my back, before turning to head into the living room. I jumped in surprise to see Sadie standing there, staring at me.

"Ugh, you scared me!" I breathed, leaning against the doorway.

"He's waiting." She murmured.

"What?"

"He's waiting. He's waiting for you." Sadie's eyes flashed as she stared at me, and the breath caught in my throat. "He showed you where; he'll be waiting." She said slowly, turning and walking back down the hallway. I stared after her with my heart in my throat as her door closed behind her. I stood there for a good ten or fifteen minutes before I ran back into the other room and woke up Marcus.

"Marcus!" I hissed, trying not to wake up the others. He groaned before opening his eyes, blinking blearily.

"S-Sierra? Wha-"

"We have to go after Slenderman!"

"Not you too." He moaned, lying back down. "I don't want to deal with this shit right now, please -"

"You don't understand!" I said menacingly, grabbing his shirt and pulling his face closer to mine. "He showed me where he is. He's waiting for me." Marcus stared wide eyed at me, his mouth opened partially. "This is what you've been doing your research for Marcus! He's waiting; it's now or never!"

**A/N:: Hmm, well this story seems to be escalating quickly~! Did anybody expect Sadie to be so creepy? Hmm...very interesting so far. Stay tuned, and don't forget to R&R~! **


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Slenderman really doesn't feel like giving me a break lately, I guess. First Katie's death, then Sadie's creepy song, then the dream…I honestly think that Slenderman is trying make my sanity disappear as fast as possible. It was working, though, which actually pissed me off; why is he after me? I don't know…why does he go after anybody? Maybe it's just a game to him; another person, another hunt.

The six of us sat outside his house, quietly staring out at the forest. Marissa was staring at me incredulously, as if she thought I was about to do some random shit. Sarah and Andrew kept exchanging nervous glances, while Duncan and Marcus stared off into the forest. I myself was sitting with my back against his tree, staring at the ground and tapping my thigh.

"S-so…you're sure that the dream -" Marissa started, but I cut her off.

"Yes, I'm sure." I said, looking up at her. "I know what I saw, plus what Sadie had said to me. Do you think that it's a coincidence? Because I don't." Marissa looked back down, quiet.

"Do you really want to go through with this?" Marcus asked. I looked up at him with a hard glare on my face.

"Isn't it what you've wanted to do since you first found out about Slenderman?"

"That wasn't the question; do _you_ want to do this? As in, go with us?"

"No shit she wants to go!" Marissa stated hotly, glaring at him. "Maybe she can get this all done and over with then, and she won't be thrown into a psycho ward!" I nodded stiffly, looking back out at the forest.

"Alright…" Marcus said slowly, thinking. "What about you guys?" he turned to Sarah and the others, looking nervous. "Do you want to go? I mean, there's still the chance -"

"Don't try to start with that shit, Marcus." Duncan said, half smiling. "Ever since we started this project, you told us we couldn't back out. You aren't going to goad us into backing out either." Sarah, Marissa, and Andrew nodded in agreement, and Marcus glanced around at them.

There was another long silence that stretched out between us. I actually began to rethink this; how do I know that I wasn't muttering in my sleep, and Sadie was just being a little prick about it? I mean, this whole Slenderman thing still didn't seem real…

"When are we leaving, then?" Marissa asked bluntly, cocking an eyebrow at Marcus. Marcus thought for a few moments, before looking around.

"Anybody got an idea?"

"March twelfth." I said instantly. Everybody looked up at me, and I shrugged. "First date that came to mind…And I'm free then."

"Me too." Marissa said, shrugging. The others nodded in agreement, and Marcus' expression hardened.

"March twelfth it is." He said, standing up. "We'll be leaving at seven pm. If any of you back down, I'll personally punch you in the gut." He stood up and flashed a quick smile. I blinked and looked back at the forest.

Three days. We'd be leaving in three days to actually go and try to find Slenderman. Well, at least if we're wrong, then we'll all be thrown in the psycho ward together. Wouldn't be as bad as being thrown in alone.

"So now what?" Sarah asked, standing up and brushing dirt off of her knees.

"We wait." I said simply, shrugging. What else was there to do?

**A/N:: Well hmm. Things seem to be moving quite fast...**

**and sorry this chapter is so short~! OUO;; It's for reasons...XD  
**

**DON'T FORGET TO R&R~!  
**


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Our plans went to shit about…four days later. I guess, from what Marcus said, Sadie overheard us, and told his mom about our plans to go into the forest. We then had to come up with an excuse, which was that we were planning on going to scout a place for a party. Probably wasn't the best idea, but better than telling her we were going to go hunt something down that will end up killing us. So he was grounded for god knows how long, and we have to reschedule that.

To add on to that, Andrew left to visit a family member in Oklahoma, and the gash on my arm wasn't healing properly. The doctors did another x-ray and said they found a small piece of the knife in my arm, and that I had to get surgery on it.

Just fucking great.

Anyways, about three weeks after that whole ordeal, I was out of the sling. My arm was still bandaged up, and I had to be careful with it, but I could already see a huge scar forming on my arm where I was stabbed. Oh joy. A constant reminder of how Slenderman fucked up my life just a little more.

I was heading towards Marcus' house, my hands tucked under my armpits to keep them warm, watching as some neighborhood kid ran across the street after a basketball. Looking around self consciously, I sighed inwardly. Why can't life just be as peaceful as it was when we were little kids?

Apprehension crept over me as I continued, and I glanced over my shoulders every couple of seconds. Was he here? I couldn't tell if I was being paranoid, or if he was watching me… "Watch it!" Someone almost yelled as I bumped into them. I backtracked a pace to see a girl about my age standing there, her dark ginger hair pulled into a tight braid and her green eyes narrowed. I recognized her as Jessie Woodson, Eliza's bratty older sister. Oh goodie. Just who I wanted to talk to.

"Sorry." I muttered, attempting to walk around her. Jessie stepped in front of me again, and I stopped, balling my hands up into fists. "What do you want?" I finally snapped, rolling onto the heels of my feet. This was just getting annoying now.

"You're the one that was attacked by that…Katie chick, or whatever." She stated, crossing her arms. I nodded.

"Good job, it was only on the news for a week. Now if you'll excuse me -"

"I'm not finished." She spat, moving in front of me as again I attempted to walk around her. I huffed, taking a step back. "What made her go crazy?"

"I don't know." I said tiredly, looking up at the sky. God forbid I can have a peaceful morning…

"Somebody said that she saw something and she just went bat shit crazy." Jessie continued, tossing her braid over her shoulder.

"Maybe." I growled. What the hell was she getting at? She was quiet, watching me with narrowed eyes. "Is that all?" I snapped, walking past her. "Because I have somewhere to be, and I really don't want to -"

"She hated you." I stopped dead in my tracks as Jessie spoke again, again balling my hands up into fists.

"Excuse me?" I asked scathingly, turning and glaring at her. She was smirking.

"I said, she hated you." She chided, her smile widening. "I talked with her after school one day when you were hanging out with that loser bunch of wierdos." She shifted her weight to one foot, crossing her arms over her chest.

"And just what makes you think I'm going to believe you?" I asked, my voice hissing between my clenched teeth.

"Believe me or don't, I know what she said." Her eyes widened and she put her hands up to her face, looking scared and worried. "'I'm so worried about her! I mean, I've seen what she's been doing, looking up that Slender whatever…and she's been so distant! Maybe she's sick?'" She said, mocking Katie's voice.

"Katie didn't say that." I snapped, turning to walk away again.

"Well, it's too bad she's dead now. She could've gotten rid of you if the cops were only a few seconds late."

That was it.

Without thinking, I turned and punched her square in the nose. She shrieked in alarm and stumbled backwards as I heard a satisfying crunch. She fell onto her ass, holding her nose with both hands, blood trickling down her arms. She stared at me with wide, scared eyes. "Y-you punched me!" She screamed, her voice muffled by her hands.

"Maybe you should've fuck with me, then." I snarled, turning on my heel and walking. I could hear the sound of laughter and yelling die away, replaced with people running and asking if Jessie was okay. She was now crying hysterically, blubbering on about how bad of a person I was. Cute. Too bad that everybody would fall for her little trick, and I'd get blamed for it. It was worth it, though. It felt good to punch her.

Something grabbed the back of my shirt, and I jerked away, rounding on whoever. "Aww, did you get a boo-boo?" I chided, smiling as Jessie glared at me with all the hate she could muster. Her nose was cocked to the side more than usual, looking very awkward on her once 'pretty' (in everybody's opinion) face. Blood covered her face, staining her teeth as she gritted them together. "You know, you really shouldn't let that get on your clothes. Blood stains really badly, and nobody would want your pretty little d -"

I didn't finish my sentence. Jessie's hand made contact with my face, and I staggered back a step, glaring at her. "You ruined my face!" She spat, advancing on me. I stepped back again.

"And you said that Katie should've killed me!" I spat back, about to punch her again. Murmurs spread through the group of kids that had formed around us, their gazes flicking around nervously. Jessie looked around, fear and remorse showing in her eyes for a brief moment before disappearing again as she looked at me again.

"I'm covered in blood!" She shrieked, about to punch me again.

"What else is new?" I asked, backtracking again as she swung and hit nothing. Again she advanced, this time managing to slap me upside the face. Interesting.

Funny thing is, though, that Cameron and I used to fight. Not actually fighting, but he taught me to defend myself. (Upon request, after a girl only two towns away was raped and murdered in the middle of the night walking home.) From the looks of it, this girl had never actually had a fist fight – probably not even a cat fight, or anything – and it was easy avoiding her hits. She swung around uselessly, becoming angrier and angrier every time I evaded her. I got in another hit, a slap on the back to tease her, while the crowd around us cheered on.

Finally, she landed a hit; she managed to grab my arm, and raked her long fingernails down it, right across the scar. I screamed and jerked backwards, again punching her in the face. This time, one of her teeth fell out. I stumbled backwards, blinded by pain, ignoring Jessie as she freaked out about her tooth. Fresh blood was welling up on and around the scar, and it was throbbing with pain already. There was a yell from the crowd, and I looked up just as Jessie swung her arm again.

My head jerked backwards and I felt blood welling up in my mouth, and again I stepped backwards. I spat out a mouthful of blood, rounding on Jessie again. Despite the blood staining her face and her nose cocked to the side, she was laughing. "Maybe you shouldn't start things you can't finish." She spat, crossing her arms as she was about to walk away.

The crowd 'ooh'd' as she turned, and I stood up again. I stalked forward, grabbed the back of her shirt, yanked her around, and punched her face again. Her scream of pain split the air, but I didn't care. I swung and hit her in the gut, then again in the back. Finally, she was left lying on the ground, and I cracked my knuckles, wincing a little. I'm pretty sure I've broken two fingers from this.

Jessie moved feebly, trying to get up, and I prepared to punch her again. Before I could, though, a pair of hands grabbed my arm, and another began to pull me away. I tried to jerk away from them, tried to hit her one last time, but it was useless; I was tired and there was…either two or three people dragging me backwards.

The people dragging me backwards swiveled me around, and I was standing face to face with Marcus. He looked both pissed off and upset. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" He spat, grabbing my shoulders.

"Sh-she started it!" I spluttered, spitting out another mouthful of blood.

"I don't care who started it, you aren't supposed to just punch someone in the face!" he said exasperatedly. He was starting to sound like some parent scolding their child.

"You would've too!" I growled, standing to my full height. "She was talking about Katie; she said that Katie hated me, and that Katie should've gotten rid of me! I had a right to punch her in the face, and even then she started the huge fight up again!" I continued, my hands shaking. It took me a minute to realize that hot tears were streaming down my face; whether it was from what Jessie had said, or the stress of everything, or…I don't know. I seemed to be crying a lot lately, huh?

Marissa, the one who was holding my arms back, let go and walked around to stand in front of me, looking confused. "Why the hell would she say something like that?"

"Because she's a stuck up little bitch who gets everything she wants." I snorted, glaring at the crowd again. Two of the people, two tall, thin ginger haired boys (twins, to be more precise), were helping Jessie up, casting glares over their shoulders at me.

"What's on your shoulder?" Sarah, who I guess had been standing a little ways away, asked curiously, coming up behind me. I shrugged, pulling my jacket up to hide.

"Birthmark." I stated, wiping blood off my mouth.

"No…it looks like -"

"I said it was a birthmark." I snapped, rounding on her. I knew exactly what she was talking about. I was made fun of it in Kindergarten and first grade, so I'd hid it ever since.

"I want to see!" Marissa said, grabbing my jacket and yanking it down. Jeez, was I allowed no privacy? There was a long moment of silence, and Marissa stumbled back to Marcus' side and whispered something to him. Oh, so they can have secrets but I can't?

"What?" I asked, dragging the word out. "It's just a birthmark, okay?"

"Are you…sure?" Sarah asked, looking scared. I looked at her, cocking an eyebrow.

"Am I sure that the mark I've had ever since birth is my birthmark?" I tapped my hand on my chin for a moment, thinking. "Hmm…well it makes sense…since I've had it since birth…and it's a mark…" I snapped my fingers. "That's why they call it a birthmark!"

"I don't think that's just a birthmark…" Sarah mumbled, biting her bottom lip. I sighed.

"Are you sure that it's been there since birth?" Marcus inquired.

"Well, for as long as I can remember." I said, rolling my eyes. "Though I didn't really have any good memories until I was about five." Marcus cocked an eyebrow, and I looked over my shoulder at the mark. Sloppy looking circle shape with an 'x' through it. Just as I remember.

"That's…that's not a normal mark." Marissa said, her voice quivering a little. I looked at her.

"What do you mean?"

"That…That symbol."  
"It's nothing, it's just -"

"The Operator Symbol." There was silence for a moment.

"The what?" I finally asked, feeling uneasy.

"The Operator Symbol." Marcus said. I could see his hands shaking. "Y-you don't know what that is?" I shook my head, and Marcus blinked. "It's…"

"Slenderman's symbol." Sarah stated bluntly, her eyes wide and blank. "He's known as the Operator in some cases…" I bit my bottom lip, looking between the three.

"B…b-but it's been there since I was little…!"

"That can only mean one thing, then." I turned to see Duncan leaning against the tree just behind us, his face dark. "He must've appeared somewhere in those five years of you having terrible memory, because you're marked."

"Marked." I repeated, my voice high pitched with fear now. "…What does that mean…?"

Marcus, Sarah, and Marissa exchanged glances, before finally Marcus spoke.

"That means…you're a target."

"But we already know this!"

"No. All we knew before is that he's been following you, and watching you." Marcus stated. "You…you have his mark. That means that he's going to kill you. There's no running, or hiding or anything." I swallowed the lump in my throat, trying to keep from shaking. Duncan stepped forward, looking somber.

"It's your death sentence."

**AN: Just gotta love it when you get so pissed off you punch someone, right? X3**

**Plus...DUN DUN DUUN. THE PLOT THICKENS..  
**

**Don't forget to R&R~!  
**


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Funny. I knew that there was a chance that Slenderman would kill me, that it was highly improbable that he _wouldn't_ kill me. But now…now it was written in stone. (Err…flesh?)

So after the whole ordeal with Jessie (who actually fessed up to her parents about what REALLY happened, for the first time ever…), my mom grounded me. I was fine with it, really. I didn't want to leave the house anyways…I spent a lot of that time on the computer, searching up things about the Operator Symbol. Maybe it was just a mistake? Maybe they were making it up to scare me?

But the second I saw a picture, I knew they were right. The sloppy circle with an 'x' through it; the same mark on my shoulder. The scariest part, though, is when I asked my mom if I had a birthmark. She'd given me a weird look and said no. So that means I got it afterwards somewhere...

I tried to remember anything from when I was little, anything that would give me a clue to what had happened, but…nothing. I could come up with fuzzy images of simple things; a birthday cake with my name on it. Potty training. Things like that. But I couldn't remember much else…

I asked my mom if I could go to Dr. Hatten's soon. She was surprised, honestly, because she knew how much I hated therapists, but there was something I wanted to know…and if he didn't know, then I'd tell him about what happened with Jessie.

We were in the car on the way towards his office, and I subconsciously traced the mark with my finger. I wanted this all to end…to wake up from this long nightmare and have everything be alright. Again, I began to wonder what was so different about me. _Why_ Slenderman would take an interest in me. It's not like I'm special or anything…I haven't done anything significant...

"Sierra?" My mom's voice roused me from my thoughts, and I looked over at her to see her staring at me worriedly. "Are you…alright?"

"What do you mean?"

"It's…it's a little out of character for you to actually want to visit Dr. Hatten…and you've been a lot more distant lately than -"

"No, I'm not fine." I said, cutting her off. She blinked in surprise, but was quiet as I continued. No matter how crazy my mom thought I was, I figured I might as well tell at least a little bit of the truth… "I've been having weird nightmares a lot. It's usually the same thing over and over; being in a forest, being chased by something, then being killed…" I looked away uncomfortably, wrapping my arms around myself. "To be honest, I think it's the person who killed Eliza…"

"Why didn't you tell me before?" Mom's voice was quiet; not mad, or upset, just curious.

"I…I don't know. I thought you'd send me off to the nut house if I told you." I said quietly, leaning my head back on the seat. "I was scared, too. I didn't know if it was because of something I've seen, or read, or…" I trailed off, looking away. I really hated these kinds of talks…

"I understand." She murmured slowly, looking back up at the road as the light turned green. "Just know that if you ever feel scared, or want to talk, or anything, I'm here for you."

The rest of the ride was silent. A comfortable silence, in my opinion. We got to Dr. Hatten's fairly quickly, and waited in the waiting room for a good ten minutes or so. About the same time my mom wondered if he was even here, or if we should just go knock on his door, it swung open; I was fairly surprised to see Jessie leaving, not even casting a glance up towards us on the couch. Her mother followed closely, shooting me a dark glare before following her daughter out.

"Sierra! It's good to- goodness, what happened to you?" Dr. Hatten burst, blinking in surprise at my swollen lip. (My arm was wrapped up again, so he couldn't see it.)

"I got into a fight." I said stiffly.

"Interesting, the girl that just left my office said she got into a fight as well…" Dr. Hatten mused, looking at me thoughtfully. "Quite a coincidence, yes?" I smiled meekly. _She deserved it_, I thought, following him into his room and sitting on the couch. "So, your mother said on the phone that you wanted to see me?" He asked, settling into his seat. I nodded, looking a little uncomfortable.

"Yes…I uh…wanted to know if you could help me."

"With what?"

"Well…it's a little difficult to explain." I confessed, shuffling my feet. He gave me a curious look, and I continued. "See, I don't remember anything from whenever I was little. I can remember my fifth birthday, and that's about as far back as I can remember no matter how hard I try."

"And you wanted to know if there was anything I can do to help?" He inquired. Feeling a little foolish for asking, I nodded.

"I've seen it done in movies and TV shows, and I wanted to know if it's actually possible." Dr. Hatten thought for a few long moments, furrowing his brow, before finally he looked back at me.

"I haven't done it in a long while, but I think I may be able to." He conceited, standing up and going over to his desk. "Not very many of my patients have ever needed or asked for hypnotherapy. I don't really know if it will help you, in this case." He said, coming back with a camcorder and a ticker. I cocked an eyebrow as he set up the camcorder, then sat back down in the chair and looked at me. "I tape hypnotherapy sessions so that patients and see how they reacted to certain memories or ideas." He stated.

I was instructed to lie down on the couch and close my eyes as he started the ticker and camcorder. "Now, listen to my voice very carefully Sierra." Dr. Hatten said, his voice low and quiet. "I want you to relax; clear your mind and think of nothing. Listen to my voice and the ticker, nothing else." I relaxed as much as I could, letting my shoulders sag and taking a slow breath. I heard Dr. Hatten speak again, but his voice was distorted and sounded far away, before fading into nothing.

…

"…She's going to be fine, Ms. Makson."

"Fine? Fine?! Do you not see what you've done already?! She was screaming bloody murder!"

I roused as I heard mom and Dr. Hatten arguing about something. Had I fallen asleep? Maybe they were arguing about something that happened when I was in the trance…? I sat up and rubbed my head, realizing that I was on the floor behind the couch. Wait…behind the couch?

"Sierra?" Dr. Hatten sounded surprised as I stood up shakily, stretching.

"What happened?" I asked, blinking. Both my mom and Dr. Hatten looked surprised, until he gestured towards the camcorder.

"I'll show you in a minute, once I get this finished…" he muttered, ushering my mom out of the room again. She yelled another insult before he finally got the door shut behind her, and turned back, smiling meekly. "Your mother sure does have a set of lungs, hmm?" He asked, going up to the camcorder and pulling the tape out of it. I nodded slowly as he pulled an old TV up, and sat down in his chair again.

"Did you figure anything out?" I asked, rubbing my head again. He nodded, looking a little uneasy. I was going to ask what he'd figured out, but he turned the TV on, and the tape began to play.

I looked like I was asleep on the couch as the ticker moved. Dr. Hatten was still talking, his voice growing quieter until all I could hear was a low murmur. Then, he began.

"Sierra?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you remember anything from before your fifth birthday?" Silence for a few long moments.

"A little."

The majority of the tape was us talking back and forth; apparently, when I was four I learned how to ride a tricycle and rode it everywhere. When I was three and a half, there was a huge storm and the house we were living in at the time flooded. When I was two, I would watch the news with my mom everyday. (I guess I had a strange interest in it, because I also said I didn't like watching Sesame Street or Dora or any other children cartoons.) When I was four and a half, I went to daycare for three days before getting scared by one of the teachers (a huge man with a scar on his face).

There was silence for a short while as Dr. Hatten sat and waited for me to continue.

"Anything else?" The silence stretched on. "Anything that might've scared you…or made you want to forget…?"

I hesitated, my face twisting into a look of fear and worry, before talking quietly. "The man in the suit."

"Who is this man?"

"I don't know. He doesn't have a name."

"He doesn't? Well, what does he look like?"

"Really tall. As big as trees. He's got a black suit on. His face is different, too."

"Does he scare you?"

"A little, yes."

"Did he ever try to hurt you?"

"…once."

"What did he do?"

"He wanted me to go play with him in the forest. I wouldn't go because it was scary and dark in there. He still wanted me to, but I wanted to go home…"

"Then what?"

"He…he grabbed my shoulder. It hurt, and I screamed. He let go and went away."

"Did you see him again?"

"Yes."

"When?"

"The next day." There was silence for a second, before I screamed, sitting up abruptly on the couch, my eyes open and wide. "HE'S THERE!" I shrieked, standing on the couch now. "HE'S THERE! HE WON'T LEAVE ME ALONE! I DON'T WANT TO PLAY ANYMORE!" I stumbled and fell backwards off the couch, and from behind the camera, the door slammed open.

"What the hell are you doing?!" I heard my mom yell. She and Dr. Hatten argued for a few minutes, then I stood up, and the camera was turned off.

I sat and stared at the TV, my heart pounding. Dr. Hatten's brow was furrowed in thought, and he glanced at me out of the corner of his eye.

"Do you know who the man in the suit was?" He asked quietly. I swallowed the lump in my throat, shaking my head slowly.

"If I told you, I'd be in a nut house faster than you can say 'suit'."

"Slenderman?" He asked, cocking an eyebrow.

Well shit. I forgot I'd told him about Slenderman in my first visit. I nodded slowly, averting my gaze. There was silence for a long time, before finally Dr. Hatten stood up.

"I want you to leave everything about this Slenderman alone." He said finally, nodding to himself. "Don't read anything, don't watch, don't even look at anything related to him. Whatever happened all those years ago, it traumatized you severely. It's very clear to see that." He wrote something on his pad of paper before looking up at me. "Do you got that?" He asked seriously.

I nodded.

**AN: I did so much research on Hypnotherapy just to make sure I got it right in this chapter, and I still think I'm off a little X'D Oh well~! **

**Don't forget to R&R~!  
**

**Plus~: Thank you for all of the amazing reviews so far! You're all so nice, and its the good reviews that keep me motivated to write (as well as being excited for this story~ X33) I'm sorry I don't reply to reviews, though; I usually would've at the end/beginning of a chapter, but I usually forget. (This time, I'm kind of being lazy X'D Plus I was supposed to be in bed three hours ago, so I'm on high alert in case my dad comes out here and catches me...) But again, thank you all~! 33  
**


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

"So wait, you punched her in the face?"

"Yes."

"Why?!"

"Because of what she said."

I sat on my living room couch with a cup of milk and the Oreos out. Jeremy and Cameron, who had come down yesterday to visit, were sitting on the couch, staring at me incredulously. I lazily dunked an Oreo into the cup, glancing up at the two of them. "She deserved it." I stated simply, popping the cookie into my mouth.

"Really?" Jeremy asked, his gaze hardening. "All she did was make a snide comment -"

"About how Katie should've killed me." I snapped, cutting him off. Jeremy blinked, looking disgruntled for a moment, before recomposing himself.

"Be that as it may…" He muttered, sitting back in his seat. "You should've just walked away."

"I wouldn't have." Cameron snorted, crossing his hands behind his head. "She deserved it for what she said. If she'd have said it to you, you would've punched her too."

"Thank you." I replied, nodding towards him.

"Well it looks like she's not completely useless in a fight." Jeremy commented, gesturing towards my lip. (The swelling had died down, but still stuck out on my face.) I rolled my eyes.

"She caught me off guard after she ripped my arm up." I said, flexing my arm and looking down at the bandages.

"She's just a dumbass." Cameron stated, taking an Oreo. "If she had any common sense, she would've just kept her mouth shut." We all lapsed into silence for a while, idly watching the TV. Another sci-fi show about aliens or something…

"Oh hey, there was a game I wanted to show you!" Jeremy said suddenly, sitting up. "Where's your laptop?"

"In my room." I said, waving my hand towards the stairs. He stood and ran up them, appearing a moment later with my laptop already on and running in his hands. I wasn't really interested in what he was doing at the moment; the show was familiar…It was about a group of people going and hunting for some alien that had murdered their friend. Hmm. _That doesn't sound familiar at all,_ I thought, grimacing.

"God, your computer is so fucking slow." Jeremy grumbled.

"It's ancient, what do you expect?" I shot back.

"At least the download is almost done." He commented, as if he didn't hear me.

"What did you download?" I asked, standing up. "For the love of god, if you downloaded something retarded I will -"

"Relax, it's nothing like that. It's a game I wanted to show you." He cut in, smirking.

"You sure it isn't any gay porn?" Cameron asked.

"Shut up, ass." Jeremy growled.

"He's just upset because his mommy deleted all of his porn." Cameron crowed, ducking as Jeremy threw an Oreo at him.

"You mean the porn that my brother put on the computer?" He asked scathingly, glaring at him. "It wasn't mine!"

"Okay whatever, what's this game called?" I asked, holding my hand up to Cameron to keep him from talking.

"You'll see." He crowed, shoving me away and turning the computer.

"Really? You're going to pull THAT?" I asked, flopping back down onto the couch. He nodded, winking.

"It's what I do best." He chided. I rolled my eyes and watched the TV for a few moments longer before leaning over towards Jeremy again.

"Are you done yet?" I asked.

"Yes, actually." He said, turning the screen back towards me. Cameron came and sat on the couch beside me, and we both stared at the screen for a few moments.

"Slender?" Cameron asked, cocking his head a little. "What the fuck does that mean?"

"You'll see!" Jeremy said as the game started. "The point of the game is to collect all eight pages before this slender thing gets you." I stiffened, blinking slowly as the game started. It was set in a forest, and the main character person had a flashlight and only a flashlight. I watched in a stiff silence as Jeremy played, the character moving around slowly. Finally, it came up to a huge dead tree, and on it was a piece of paper.

"Don't look or it takes you." Jeremy read before grabbing it. Something that resembled an ominous drumbeat (as Cameron pointed out) sounded in the background, and I felt a chill run down my back. Jeremy moved onwards, running until he came up to something that looked like…a silo, maybe? Another page was grabbed, and he turned and ran again.

"When does this game get entertaining?" Cameron asked, boredom evident in his tone. I slapped his arm, shutting him up and moving closer to the screen. "Bogus." He muttered, but he continued to watch as well. A third page was grabbed, and the fourth one was just up ahead on a huge…red tank thing. (I have no idea what it was.)

Another drumbeat sounded in the background, and Jeremy continued on slowly. A building was coming up in the distance, and I leaned closer and squinted to see it. "Dude, Sierra. Bubble." Jeremy said, pushing me away. I ignored him and continued to watch. Before he entered the building, he turned and looked around. "Oh shit he's right there!" He gasped, turning and running into the building.  
"What? Where?" Cameron asked, leaning closer again.

"I'm not going to look again!" Jeremy snorted. He rounded a corner to see a chair lying on its back in the corner of the hall. "OOooohhh, scary." He said, snickering a little. There was another page in a room in there, and he grabbed it.

"This game isn't scary." Cameron said, leaning back again. "I don't see -" He stopped as Jeremy rounded a corner, and a figure stood there. A stinger sounded and Jeremy jumped, swearing loudly. Cameron leaned backwards, tensed, but instantly relaxed. He wasn't one to get scared that easily. My reaction, on the other hand, was a little delayed, but I shot to my feet, screaming. The game screen turned to static, and a blank face appeared, before the game closed.

I had my hand clamped over my mouth, aware of Jeremy and Cameron staring at me in shock. "Holy fuck Sierra it's just a game." Cameron said warily, forcing a small smile. "Relax."

"S-sorry." I muttered, feeling my face grow hot as I sunk back down onto the couch. "Caught me off guard…"

"I think it did a little more than just catch you off guard. You literally just shit yourself there I think." Jeremy said, putting the laptop on the coffee table. I stared at the screen for a few moments before shutting the laptop with my foot.

"I'm fine." I stated, crossing my arms and looking down. There was silence for a few moments while I tried to collect my thoughts. It wasn't really the game in general that scared me; it was the figure.

Slenderman. How did I not guess that from the title? I feel a little stupid for not getting that…And even stupider for watching Jeremy play.

As much as I hadn't wanted to, I had to abide to Dr. Hatten's rules and stay away from anything related to Slenderman; mostly due to the fact that my mom had grounded me from it. (What is with parents and grounding kids? Seriously…) She didn't want me talking to Marcus and the others throughout this point either, which is why I was actually happy that Jeremy and Cameron had come down to visit; it was a good distraction while it lasted.

"Holy shit Sierra, you look like you just died a little bit." Cameron joked, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Shut up." I grumbled as Jeremy grabbed the laptop again. As freaked out as I was by the game, I couldn't help watching Jeremy play again, and it went on for a few hours. The most pages he got were five, and when Cameron took a turn he got six. I decided that I might as well take a shot, and almost screamed again as Slenderman appeared. I shuddered as the screen blanked out and went back to the desktop.

"Well, you got seven pages at least." Jeremy said, shrugging. I sighed, handing the laptop back to him.

"And you almost shat yourself again." Cameron added, receiving a smack in the chest from me. The front door swung open and my mom stepped inside, followed by both Jeremy and Cameron's moms.

"We're leaving." Cameron's mom stated, turning and walking out of the house again. Cameron rolled his eyes, punching my shoulder before leaving. Jeremy gave me a hug, and told me to go change my pants (ha, ha, so funny) before leaving.

"Have fun?" My mom asked as I finished my cup of milk and put the Oreos away. I shrugged, and she smiled a little. "You look a little pale…are you alright?" She asked worriedly.

"Yeah, Jeremy just scared me with something." I said, washing my cup.

"With what?" She prompted, her eyes narrowing a little. I hesitated for a second, and I could tell my mom was coming to a conclusion.

"Smile dog." I said quickly.

"What?"

"It's this really weird picture…it's really freaky. Don't look it up." I said, turning and leaving the kitchen quickly. Before mom could say anything else, I grabbed my laptop and ran upstairs.

…

The second I was released from my grounding, (three days later) I went straight to Marcus' and relayed everything that happened, from my appointment with Dr. Hatten, to me playing Slender for half of the night. (I have to say, the game was actually a little addicting…) Anyways, he was completely shocked after I told him about my freakout at the therapist's (I would've been surprised if he wasn't shocked), and he instantly called everybody together. To keep safe from his little sister eavesdropping, we went back to my house this time since my mom was at work.

"So wait…you had a close encounter with him when you were four?" Marissa asked, baffled. I nodded meekly.

"I guess so." I muttered, tapping my hand against my thigh.

"Well what the actual fuck then." Duncan snorted, sitting up. "So, let's get things cleared up a little bit. When you were little, you would talk and play with Slenderman?" I nodded uncertainly. "And you refused to go with him, so he marked you." I shrugged. "And you pushed it out of your mind so that it became a suppressed memory."

"I guess so." I said, sighing a little. "That's what I said when I was in that trance or whatever, but I can't remember it at all now."

"Maybe…maybe Slenderman wanted you to forget…?" Sarah ventured, glancing at me. I shrugged.

"Either that, or he's still just fucking with me and that never happened."

"I've never heard of Slenderman putting images into people's minds and making up memories." Andrew commented. There was silence for a minute before Marcus stood up stiffly.

"We're going after him soon." He stated, his voice firm, but I saw a flicker of uncertainty in his gaze.

"How soon?" Marissa asked, her eyes sparking.  
"May third?" Duncan offered. Nobody had any objections, so Marcus nodded.

"This time is for real. I don't care if you have an excuse; you're going to come no matter what." He stated firmly. Everybody nodded in agreement, and they left (it was late and my mom would be home soon).

I sat stiffly on the couch, thinking. May third. Why then? Why didn't I say anything? I flinched, resting my head against my knees. Just perfect.

I get to go Slenderman hunting on my birthday.


	17. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

As April came to and end and May first came around, all of us grew tenser and tenser; what were we going into? We all knew the answer very well…and yet, none of us seemed scared. Hell, even I was more anxious than scared. I felt like I wanted to find him…no.

I _needed _to find him.

I don't really understand why, either. To prove to myself that we aren't just a bunch of crazy teenagers that need to rot away in a nut house? To finally get this fear out of the closet and confront it? I really don't think I'll ever know…But one thing I did know is that the nightmares were back, and they were worse than ever.

Not so much that I woke up screaming, really. Actually in the dreams I really couldn't make any sounds…which brought back Sadie's creepy little song for me. _Nine, ten, never scream again…_Something told me that these words meant my death. (If the mark on my shoulder didn't already…)

But the night of April second, I was terrified to go to sleep. I thought about making a few pots of coffee and staying up the whole night, but I hated coffee, and I knew that even if I did, I'd fall asleep at some point from crashing. So instead, I decided to stay up as long as I could. I only lasted until about four in the morning.

Just as I began to doze off, though, I heard something downstairs; a crashing sound, like someone had shattered a window. Sitting up, instantly alert, I sucked in a sharp breath and grabbed the flashlight I had hanging around my neck. (I carried it everywhere with me now, just in case.) I sat in bed for a few moments, the covers pulled up to my mouth, before shaking them off and very slowly, carefully, making my way towards the door. I peeked out into the hallway, a little confused; the lights were on downstairs, and yet somebody managed to break inside…? Unless it was just mom accidentally dropping a plate, but that seemed highly improbable.

Slipping towards the staircase slowly, I made my way down the stairs one at a time, stopping on every step to listen. I could hear shuffling around, as well as a voice muttering quietly. I couldn't make out who the voice belonged to, though, and it began to frustrate me. As I reached one of the steps where the wall dropped away, I peered down anxiously; I could see nobody in the kitchen, living room, or the bathroom. Mom's bedroom door was ajar, but the light was on in there, too. Maybe…maybe she was in the closet putting something away, and she'd dropped something else and it shattered?

I inched down the last step, sweeping the flashlight's beam around despite how well lit everywhere was. I peeked down towards the bathroom; the door was ajar and the lights were on. Same with the kitchen, mom's room, her closet…even the porch lights were on. Something about it made my skin crawl; despite my fear of the dark, we never turned all of these lights on. Ever. Even the TV was on, as well as my laptop.

I stepped out away from the staircase and walked into the kitchen. To my surprise, there actually was a shattered plate on the floor; no shattered windows or anything else was apparent. I looked around again. Where was mom?

"Mom?" I called quietly, tapping my hand against my thigh again. No, something was definitely wrong. She was nowhere to be seen, and that meant that this was-

"Right here." I turned on my heel, feeling myself relax as she stepped in though the backdoor with a broom in her hands. "Sorry, I was getting some of our nice china out of the storage room, and I dropped this one." She smiled a little sheepishly and began to sweep it up.

"Oh thank god. I thought somebody broke in or something…" I muttered, turning the flashlight off and setting it on the counter. Mom laughed a little, putting the remains of the plate in a trash bag and tying it up.

"You're always so nervous and jumpy." She commented, tossing the bag into the dumpster outside. "Anyways, it's nothing to worry about. You can go back to bed."

"Uh, quick question. Why are all the lights on?" I asked, looking around. Mom looked up at the lights for a moment, smiling a little bit.

"I got nervous when I dropped the plate. I turned all the lights on in case some piece of it went somewhere and I didn't see it." She waved her hand absently. "I was just making sure you didn't get a bloody foot in the morning or anything."

"That makes sense…but why is the TV and my laptop on?"

"I was watching TV earlier before I dropped the plate, and your computer is updating." She stated, turning and putting the broom away. I nodded, leaning against the counter. Maybe I was just being a little over reactive lately…stupid Slenderman.

"Can you put this back on the closet?" Mom asked, handing me an old teacup set that was still in the box and caked with dust. "I accidentally brought it down with the china." I nodded and took the box, walking towards the front door. Our storage closet was in one of the weirdest places ever; in a small hallway right behind the front door, pretty much invisible unless pointed out. It was also dark, too. The door, all the way at the end of the hallway, was ajar, and I quickly slipped the box back into there, turning back, ready to go back upstairs and go to bed.

I froze instantly.

All the lights were off.

I felt frozen to the spot for a few long moments before I forced myself to walk forward slowly, tapping my thigh again. "M-mom?" I called nervously, peeking around the hall. I jumped and had to slap my hand over my mouth as the door behind me slammed shut, and I looked back with wide, fearful eyes. The end of the hallway was pitch black, the darkness creeping closer and closer. Before it could reach me, I walked shakily into the living room, keeping my hand on the wall as I went.

The TV was still on, though it had turned to static. No sound came from it thankfully, but the channel looked like it was coming in faintly. I couldn't make out what was on it, and I didn't try to focus and see; I was too busy looking around for any lights to turn on. I reached for the light switch that would turn on the main living room light, but found only the wall; I slid my hand everywhere, but still didn't find it. It was just…gone.

I stepped away from the wall, quickly bounding towards the kitchen and groping around for my flashlight. I felt my heart drop as I didn't find it, and looked around warily. There was a faint static noise now; I guessed it was coming from the TV and ignored it, turning in a circle to look for any light.

"M-mom…?" I called shakily, feeling as if I was about to start hyperventilating. The darkness that was creeping over the walls in the hallway was now creeping along the walls of the living room, covering everything in its way and turning it pitch black. "M-m-mom?"

"I'm in my room!" She called back. She didn't sound scared, which only made me feel apprehensive. I heard a shuffling noise, followed by a shriek, and then finally, a loud crunching sound; much like the one when I punched Jessie's nose, but louder, and more gut wrenching. It was followed by a whimper of fear, then finally, a wet ripping sound that made me feel sick to my stomach.

Without thinking, I ran into her room, skidding to a halt in the doorway and staring in horror at the scene in front of me.

Mom was lying on the floor in a pool of blood, her eyes glazed over and her mouth open in a last scream of desperation. The bones in her leg stuck out of the skin, and her whole torso had been ripped open; I could see her whole insides, some of them torn out and strewn across the floor. Blood flowed out from her whole frame, covering the entire floor within the few seconds I was standing there.

I wanted to vomit; to scream, to make ANY noise. But I was completely petrified, staring in horror at my mom's dead body. Finally, some sense came back to me and I staggered backwards, falling against something. In my haze of fear and horror, I couldn't tell what it was until I slid down to the floor and shakily looked up.

This time, I managed to scream, but it was hoarse and was hardly louder than a murmur.

I was looking up at the pale, featureless face of Slenderman. For the first time ever, I saw what his head looked like; exactly like in the Slender game, but with less features on his face. It looked like a blank white mask, and his head was cocked to the side a little bit as if he was curious.

I instantly scrabbled backwards, stopping stiffly as I felt the blood seep into my pant legs and drench my hands. I jerked away, feebly getting to my feet. I didn't know what to do; walk forward and face Slenderman, or walk backwards and face my mom's dead corpse, as well as being trapped with no way out.

"_**Why do you try and flee, when you know the inevitable is going to happen?"**_

The voice in my head made me jump, and again I felt angry at him using my dad's voice; but this time, with the current state of things, it was a low priority thing, and I didn't really care for it as much this time.

I didn't answer, instead taking my chances and running towards Slenderman. If he had a face, I'm guessing he would've looked surprised as I ran around him, skidding as my feet slid across the rug. The TV was still static, but the Operator Symbol shone in bright red on top of it. Without hesitating, I ran towards the back door, grabbing the doorknob and trying to force it open. It wouldn't budge. I whipped around again, expecting to see Slenderman standing there, but he was still standing by the doorway; his face was turned towards me, and I'm guessing he watched me as I scurried past, grabbing the front door and trying it as well. Still, no luck.

"_**Your species is very amusing."**_

I heard the voice again, and detected a lighter tone this time. Tears streamed down my face as I slid down to my knees, my forehead pressed against the door. _There has to be a way out…_I thought weakly, slamming my fist into the door. I felt something like a cold breeze, and whipped around to see Slenderman's figure standing right in front of me again; this time I couldn't see his face, covered in shadows again, and I just stared. What else could I do?

I could see the shadow's creeping over the walls again, closing in on me; the TV was swallowed by it, and I was plunged into complete darkness, though I could still see Slenderman clearly. Something cold touched my arm and I flinched away, scooting away and down the dark hallway; the only last resort escape I could see. I heard something like a chuckle come from him, but I didn't care; my face was turned down, my eyes were closed, and I didn't stop scooting until I felt the door behind me and knew that this was the end.

I waited tensely for what was to come, but it never did. Opening my eyes a little, I realized that Slenderman wasn't there anymore. Instead, a small piece of paper was lying on the floor. I struggled forward, grabbing it and holding it close to my face to read. I dropped it and stared at it for a few moments, my heart in my throat.

It read, "Deadwood Forest. I'll be waiting." In dark red letters, and I realized that it was written in blood; my mom's blood, to be exact. Below that was the Operator Symbol. Before I could do anything else, the darkness crept over the floor towards me, and before I could even scream, the darkness engulfed me, and I jerked awake.

Sitting in my bed, panting heavily, I rubbed my eyes; they hurt and felt as if I really had been crying…which, after a quick inspection of my pillow, I guess I was. I was covered in a cold sweat, and I could feel my whole body trembling. I wiped my forehead feebly, stopping suddenly with a sharp intake of breath; my hand was wet, and warm. I pulled it away and looked at it, suppressing a scream.

It was drenched in blood.

Throwing the covers off, I ran down the stairs, ignoring the suffocating darkness that filled the living room, and opened my mom's door. I felt weak with relief as I saw her form in her bed, rising and falling. She muttered something and rolled over as the door hit the wall lightly, and I shut it behind me, sighing.

I went into the bathroom and quickly washed my hands and face, changing out of my pants and dropping them into the washer as I passed. I'd get a new pair of pants when I went upstairs. I looked haunted; my skin was paler than ever, and I was still shaking violently from the dream. I touched my face lightly, wincing a little bit. God, I looked terrible…

I left the bathroom and hurried upstairs as fast as I could, grabbing a new pair of pants out of my drawer and putting them on. I pulled all the sheets off my bed, tossing them, the blanket, and the pillow case into a heap that I'd throw into the washer when I went back downstairs. There was no way in hell that I was going back to sleep after that.

As I picked up the pile of bloody sheets, I stopped as something on my desk caught my eye; dropping the sheets, I walked over to my desk, where the corner of a piece of paper stuck out. I pulled the paper out, gasping and dropping it, scrabbling backwards and falling onto my ass as I stared at the paper with wide eyes, whimpering slightly.

It was the paper from the dream.

It was real.


	18. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

I paced back and forth anxiously, glancing at the clock every now and then. Mom had left work an hour after I found the paper (probably the longest hour of my life; as well as the earliest that my mom had left for work, since it was only about six am), and I'd called Marcus right away. I didn't say anything specifically, just told him to get his ass over here now. Maybe it'd make him hurry if I gave him fewer details…? Obviously not, considering I'd called almost half an hour ago.

I heard something outside, and went straight to the window and peeked out. Light pooled out onto the ground outside as I peered around nervously. I didn't see anything, or anyone…no wait. There was a figure walking towards the house in the distance.

I ran back to the door and opened it, staring out towards the figure, hoping it was Marcus. The figure had stopped, and I realized that it was just a passerby who was staring at me curiously. I felt myself flush as I stepped back and shut the door quickly, turning and beginning my pace again. A tap on the backdoor made me jump, and I turned around to see Marcus peering in through the window.

Sighing, I ran over and opened the door, letting him in. "What is it you wanted me over here for?" He asked worriedly, trying to hide the hint of a yawn in his voice.

"I had another nightmare." I said as steadily as I could.

"That's it? Couldn't you have told me over the phone? I mean, I understand that it's Slenderman, but my mom is going to -"

"You don't understand!" I growled, stomping up to him until I was face to face with him. "This dream was different; he _left_ something for me." I thrust the paper towards him, which had been clamped in my left hand this whole time, and watched his face as he looked at it.

"I-is this…blood…?" The last word came out as a mere whisper as Marcus looked back up at me, and I nodded solemnly.

"I don't know who's blood it is, but in my dream it was my mom's." I said quietly. I felt my hand begin to tremble, and I began to tap it against my thigh again.

"Tell me about the dream." He said after a short pause, shakily sitting down on the couch. I stood stiffly, one hand tapping my thigh, the other pressed against my forehead.

"It didn't even feel like a dream to start with." I started slowly, beginning to pace again. I relayed the whole dream to him, feeling my voice falter and stutter as I told about my mom's dead body; about seeing Slenderman's face for the first time. About everything. I fell completely silent as I finished, feeling even more tense than I was before.

Marcus sat on the edge of the couch, watching me with wide eyes. He looked like he was thinking, or trying to process everything that I had just told him. I paced quicker, turning sharper. Marcus' silence was making me nervous…and pissing me off to no end. Finally, as I was about to turn again, I twisted around and punched the wall angrily; Marcus jumped and stared at me wide eyed.

"This is all just a bunch of shit!" I yelled, punching the wall again. "Why the hell is this happening to me?! I never did anything! And now…now it's gotten too far. What would he do if I just killed myself right now, huh?" I turned around again, pacing back to my starting point before facing Marcus again. "Then what would he do? It would be a game over; chase is done, no more fun! Maybe then I can get some peace!"

"Sierra -" Marcus tried to cut in, but I wasn't listening; I stomped to the back door and flung it open, stomping out into the backyard and facing the forest.

"What are you going to do if I just die, huh?" I screamed at the trees. The neighbor's lights flicked on, but I didn't care; I had all this pent up rage I just wanted to get off my chest. I screamed a little more, incoherent words that spilled from me, followed by a string of insults and swear words, then some more incoherent words. Finally, when my throat was so hoarse I almost couldn't breath, I slumped down to my knees and sat there, staring at the ground in disdain.

I felt a hand rest on my shoulder, and looked up ruefully at Marcus. He had an unreadable expression on his face, but I saw a flicker of remorse in his gaze. I did nothing as he helped me up to my feet and walked me back inside, completely ignoring the neighbors that had come to watch from their doorways. I said absolutely nothing more as he sat me down on the couch, then went into the kitchen. I stared in contempt at the ground, breathing raggedly. I was spent; my head hurt now and every breath stuck in my throat, dragging itself out.

"Here." I looked up as Marcus offered me a cup of water, and I took it and sipped. It helped a little, and I continued to stare at the ground as Marcus sat down on the couch. There was a long silence between us, the only sound being the ticking of the clock and the low murmur of the TV. Finally, I set the cup down on the coffee table and stood up.

"Sorry." I muttered, my voice hoarse as I stood up and headed towards my room. "You can leave now; I just want to go to sleep."

"That doesn't seem at all likely." He commented as I grabbed the hand rail. "Killing yourself won't get you anywhere, Sierra."

"It'll get me away from this hell hole called life." I retorted, my grip tightening.

"And then what? You would've accomplished nothing that you've set out for during this whole thing."

"Excuse me?" I rounded on him, my voice rising as much as it could without hurting. "I wasn't the one with the idea to go hunt this fucker down! I -"

"Told me and the others that you wanted to help us." He replied stiffly, his eyes narrowing a little. I stood rigid for a few moments before letting my shoulders sag, the corner of my mouth twitching into a smile.

"Guess I'm just not cut out for trying to argue my way out of it." I muttered, looking up again. "But honestly; killing myself now would just save me from a horrible, painful death by Slenderman. Wouldn't it be better?"

"No." He stated firmly, standing up. "We're risking our lives for crucial pieces of evidence; we knew it was a one way ticket, and we made a pact." He continued, walking up to me and staring me in the eye. "Are you going to back out now, when we've gotten all of our stuff ready to go tonight?"

"I thought it wasn't until tomorrow." I stated, avoiding the question for a moment.

"We're leaving at midnight tonight; there's a party going on down by the high school. We decided we'd slip away then and head out." He said idly. "Now, are you backing out now?" I stared at him for a long time before I finally answered.

"I don't really have a choice, do I?" Again, a smile twitched across my face for a second, and I leaned back against the handrail. "Anything I need to bring?"

"A video camera and a flashlight." He said, satisfied with my answer. "…And the note." I nodded, casting a sidelong glance at the piece of paper lying on the coffee table. "We're meeting up at my house before we leave, at seven o'clock." He said, turning and pulling out his phone.

"Alright, see you later then." I muttered, starting towards the stairs.

"I'm not leaving." I stopped, turning and looking back at him.

"What?"

"It's nothing against you." He said quickly, smiling a little. "First off, the rest of the gang needs to know about your dream, and the note. Secondly, if you're going back to sleep, who's to say you don't have another Slenderman nightmare? Then you won't have to call me back over when you wake up freaking out."  
"I don't always freak out." I snapped, feeling a little irritated.

"Liar." He mused, glancing up at me from his texting. I snorted, stepping past him and flopping back down onto the couch with my knees pulled up to my chest. Whatever. If he wasn't going to let me go to sleep upstairs, I'd pass out on the couch, no biggie.

I idly watched the TV, jerking myself awake a few times as I began to doze off. A knock on the door jerked me awake a fifth time, and I waved a little as the other four walked inside. "So Sierra, tell us about your freak out this morning." Marissa said loudly, settling on the couch beside me.

"Have Marcus tell you, he was there." I muttered groggily.

"Oh come on, it'd be better hearing it from you!" She coaxed, but I just turned on my other side and wrapped my arms around my legs. She huffed indignantly and turned to Marcus. "So, tell us what happened!" I didn't listen as Marcus relayed what happened, or when Marissa tried to tease me for screaming at trees (although I did smirk a little when someone slapped her). I was so tired…why couldn't I just go to sleep.

I felt someone grab my shoulder, and, huffing angrily, I sat up. "I swear to god Marissa if you don't leave me alone I'll…" I trailed off as I realized that I wasn't on the couch anymore; instead, I was sitting on the forest floor. Oh great, Slenderman nightmare. Just what I wanted. (I found it really weird that I could tell when I was in a dream, though…considering most people don't, but maybe it's different whenever it's a Slenderman dream?)

I stood up and began to walk forward; might as well just get into it while I can, so I can get it over with. I had only taken a few steps when my foot shot out from under me, and I fell onto my back. Cursing, I pushed myself up, looking down. I scrabbled up to my feet wide eyed. Blood covered the entire area as far as I could see. I swallowed nervously, continuing on carefully.

It wasn't long until I came up to a dead end; a huge stone wall that was crumbling away, with vines snaking up through the loose stones. Blood covered the entire floor and part of the walls; I took a step closer. There was something written on the wall…It read, "I'll be waiting."

I stared at the wall for a few long minutes, thinking. He'd already told me this in his stupid little note, why tell me again? (Did he think I was stupid or something?)

A crunch behind me made me jump, and I tensed, using all of my willpower and forcing myself to keep from turning. I heard something move around in the shadows on both sides of me, but still, I stood stiff, staring at the wall. There was no way in hell I was falling for this.

Something grabbed my shoulder, and I flinched, but didn't jerk away. This time, I wouldn't show fear (no matter how badly I wanted to pull away and run screeching).

"_**Don't keep me waiting."**_

The voice was different now; I couldn't tell who it belonged to, and before I could even think about it my eyes flew open, and I was back on the couch. I sat up stiffly, rubbing my eyes a little. "So did you have a Slender dream?" I looked up at Marissa, who was watching me with wide eyes. Actually, everybody was.

"You were muttering in your sleep and said something about blood." Marcus explained. I nodded slowly.

"Yeah…It wasn't really scary or anything. I was in a forest, I found a bunch of blood, and there was something written on a wall."

"What'd it say?"

"'I'll be waiting'."

"Is that it?" Marissa sounded disappointed, and I shot her a glare.

"No, then he appeared behind me, grabbed my shoulder, and told me not to keep him waiting." I growled, sitting back on the couch. Marissa blinked, her eyes narrowing a little. "No, that wasn't sarcasm." I stated as she opened her mouth to speak. She snapped it shut again and rolled her eyes, muttering something under her breath.

There was a small discussion about the dream (in which I paid absolutely no attention to), before finally a long point of silence stretched between us as we all watched the TV. "Marcus?" I finally said, looking at him as a commercial came on.

"Huh?" I smiled a little, cocking an eyebrow at him.

"Told you I don't always freak out after Slenderman nightmares." He snorted and looked away again.


	19. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

The day went by as slowly as possible. Every time I looked at the clock, it seemed like only five minutes went by when it felt like at least thirty. As each hour passed, everybody became more agitated, and tense; who can blame them? We're all about to go and pretty much kill ourselves…

As five thirty rolled around (after what felt like two days, ugh), everybody left to get ready. I called up my mom and told her about the party, saying that Jeremy was coming into town and holding it out by his old house. (Better than telling her that it was a party that would most likely have a lot of booze with a huge group of people I don't even know.) She agreed, as long as I was home before midnight. Hah. If only.

I dug around for a while and found my old video camera; it was only a year old, but I never used it and it was covered in a good layer of dust. After cleaning it off, putting a pair of new batteries in, I decided to test it, making random noises around the house and running around to see how well it would capture video. I even went into the closet and stood there for a few moments, seeing how well it would capture video in the dark. It worked really well. I then collected all of my flashlights together and chose the brightest one; a small maglight that had eight little bulbs in it. I switched out the batteries and put it with the note and the camera on my bed, as well as a smaller backup flashlight.

I put on a pair of jeans, slipped my hoodie on, and put an old-ish pair of hiking boots on, glancing up at the clock. Six o'clock. Huh. Now I get to wait for about half an hour. I paced around the house, trying to keep preoccupied as best as I could. I tried reading and watching TV, but that didn't work. I played one last round of Slender, and actually beat the game; wasn't all that climatic, as I thought. It was really boring, honestly.

After that (which only took up about ten minutes), I just sat on the couch and stared at the clock. Six fifteen. Six seventeen. Six twenty…

Finally, six thirty rolled around, and I left the house with all the lights on. I didn't want to leave, I realized; there's a slim chance I'll ever see it again. I stood with my hand on the doorknob, staring inside for a long time. Could I really just give all of this up? And what about my mom? _No,_ I thought firmly, opening the door and stepping out onto the porch. _I have to do this…_

I left as quickly as possible so I didn't change my mind. I pushed all doubts and thoughts to the back of my mind, keeping my mind blank. Just get to Marcus' house. Go to the party. Go find my death. Simple.

"Sierra!" I looked up, surprised to see the wal-mart beside Marcus' house. Marissa was standing on the sidewalk, waving towards me. I waved back, speeding up until I was at her side. Her eyes were sparkling, and I could see her hands trembling. "This is so exciting!" She squealed, a look of determination coming onto her face. "I'm soo pumped for this! Are you?"

"Not really." I muttered, though she wasn't listening; she rambled on about how she was going to see him, get video of him, and even try to punch him, and I rolled my eyes. "And you really think you're going to be able to hit him?"

"It's worth a try." She quipped, punching the air a few times.

"And…you plan on doing this how?"

"Get him when he doesn't see it coming."

"I'm pretty sure he can read minds, dumbass." She threw a glare at me, and I shrugged.

"I can still dream, okay?"

"And your life goal is to punch Slenderman?" She nodded, again swiping at the air. Marcus' house came into view, and I saw Marcus, Sarah, and Duncan sitting on the porch. Marissa ran up to them and began to talk again, and I leaned against the tree in his yard. And now to play the waiting game. Again.

This time, to my relief, we didn't have to wait long; Andrew appeared a few moments later, and Marcus called us together for an equipment check. Everybody had their own video camera, their own flashlight, and I had the note; god knows why Marcus wanted me to bring the note, but I guess it's Slenderman related…so it counts for something?

We all piled into Marcus' truck (I offered to sit in the back instead of being cramped up inside with everyone else), and we left. I could feel my breath quickening as we slowly made our way down the road towards the high school. The place the party was at was out a ways away, with only a small, barely visible dirt road to lead us there. Marcus parked the truck a ways away so that we didn't draw as much attention when we left, and we started down the dirt track.

A lot of people were there already, and people were still arriving. Huh. I'd never actually been to a huge party like this. Actually I'd never had any interest in these kinds of things, since I was a little bit of a shut in…but it wasn't bad. (Not yet anyways, since nobody was drunk yet.) Loud music blared from the back of somebody's truck parked at the edge of the clearing, and people milled around quietly. From the looks of it, there wasn't even any beer here yet.

We all pretty much stayed within one general area as the sky darkened, and the music was turned up. Some guy arrived with a keg, and everybody cheered. Woo-hoo.

Everything seemed as if it was going in slow motion; I could visibly see people becoming more and more tipsy, their walking turning to staggering, until finally almost everybody was drunk; except maybe…seven people, excluding myself and the rest of our little hunting party. I could tell that Marcus and the rest of us were getting restless; but we'd decided that our leave time would be eleven thirty, and it was still only about nine thirty.

Time passed by even slower as it got later; I watched the moon rise from the edge of the group, pretty much hiding in the shadows. (I would've preferred to be out in the open, but I didn't want to get into the group; currently, about three or four guys had gotten into a fight and were beating each other senseless, and pretty much every way I turned I could see people making out; ugh.) Marissa and Sarah got into a fight as well; they were yelling at each other until Marcus broke them up. Hmm. Not at all interesting.

Finally, eleven o'clock rolled around (by now the party was in full swing; people were passed out, some where throwing up, and some chick ran into the clearing yelling about some two people having sex in the trees a little ways away), and Marcus decided to go ahead and leave. Thank god, I was bored out of my mind and almost began to doze off (despite the loud music and people screaming…).

We headed back the way we'd come, all of us relaxing just a tiny bit. "Well that was interesting." Andrew commented, and Marissa snorted in reply.

"All we did was stand around and watch as people made out and threw up all over themselves." She scoffed. "I wanted to have a beer or two, to lighten things up at least…"

"Then you wouldn't have come with us." Marcus snapped. Marissa huffed and crossed her arms, and silence fell between us. We were out to the truck and ready to start it when I heard something; it sounded like a whisper, or a murmur…from inside the back of the truck, I stood up and turned in a slow circle, scanning the tree line. Maybe it was just a couple of people making out or something, and they were-

I didn't finish that thought. I saw something faintly in the distance, and shrieked, backtracking until I hit the side of the truck bed and toppled onto the ground. I was winded and stared wide eyed at the sky for a few heartbeats before standing up, wheezing, and looking back into the direction of the trees. "Sierra? What the fuck -"

"He's there!" I managed to gasp, cutting Duncan off and pointing out towards the trees. And he was; black suit, red tie, featureless face…

"But…why is he just standing there still…?" Marissa asked, skeptical. I realized that too; and to add to that, he was…laughing?

"Oh man!" Some guy stepped out beside the Slenderman figure, clapping him on the shoulder and pointing towards me. "Dude, that chick nearly pissed herself in fear! Oooh man, that was epic!" The 'Slenderman' reached behind his head, pulling off the mask to reveal a shaggy head of blond hair. I took a slow breath, clenching my teeth together. Oh that's fucking great.

"What the actual fuck." Marissa growled, beginning to stomp towards the two guys. I was already a few yards ahead of her. The guy who was dressed as Slenderman laughed, wiping one of his eyes.

"Aww, are you scared of the big bad Slendy-man?" He crowed as I came up to him. "Do you wa -"

My fist met his face before he could finish, and I turned on my heel and stomped back towards the truck. I was so fucking done with this shit. I heard the two guys swearing, but didn't look back; I was already in the back of the truck, and Marcus had already started it and was shifting gears.

"Bitch!" One of the guys yelled at me, but I ignored them as we drove away.  
"Nice punch." Marissa complimented me, laughing. "Maybe you should be the one to punch Slenderman!"

"She already did." Duncan replied, and they laughed. I leaned back and stared up at the sky, ignoring their conversation. It went on for a while, finally receding into a welcomed silence. The tension between us only grew as Deadwood forest came into view in the distance; I slipped down until I was lying on my back so that I didn't stare into the trees, afraid I'd see him…

The truck jerked to a stop, but I still didn't move. Not until the engine shut down, and everybody was out of the truck and staring at the woods. I jumped down slowly, warily keeping my gaze on the ground. "Fuck!" I looked up as Marcus swore, and saw that there was a huge fence enclosed around the trees; barbed wire laced across the top of the fence, and Marcus swore again, kicking at the ground. "God damnit! We were so close!"

"Come on, are you really going to give up?" I was honestly surprised with myself for saying that, after my freak out earlier this morning. Apparently, Marcus was too. "We're here already; we aren't just going to let this make us turn back." I opened the passenger door to his truck and groped around until my hand made contact with the little rug. "Bring the truck up so it's right beside the fence." With a confused look, Marcus started the truck and (with a close call that almost ended up with Marissa under the tires) parked it right beside the fence. I jumped up with the rug in hand, jumped onto the hood, and threw the rug over the barbed wire.

"I would've never thought of that." Sarah said, impressed as I beckoned for them to climb over. Marcus went first, then Marissa, Sarah, Duncan, and Andrew. Finally, I climbed up halfway over the fence, giving one last look out towards the road.

"Don't back out now, Sierra." Marcus warned, but I'd already jumped down beside him.

"I can't; we're already at the point of no return." I stated dryly, pulling out my flashlight and flipping it on.

"Come on, you guys are taking forever!" Marissa called; she'd already headed into the trees and was trampling forward. We all started to follow; I threw one more look over my shoulder, clenching my hand into a fist. _This is it, _I thought nervously, turning back around. _This is where we all die._

**AN:: Hey all~! **

**This story seems to be escalating quickly, huh? X3 It's mostly due to the fact that I'm super excited for this part! This is the part we've all been waiting for~!  
**

**I'm sorry if this chapter is a little boring; but that's how it was supposed to be written. I wanted it to seem bland, because...well, that's how it was to Sierra. Plus, this is mostly a filler chapter ^^;  
**

**Anyways, stay tuned~! I can promise that there will be more high strung feelings, more gore, and even more freak outs and scares on the way~! (Well, for these guys anyways, I dunno about you XD)  
**

**Don't forget to R&R~!  
**


	20. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

To our surprise, nothing really happened for a while; a few twigs were snapped, and, since tensions were strung so high, it scared the living shit out of us. Sarah almost screamed as a bird flew out of a nearby tree, stopped as Marissa slapped a hand over her mouth. Even she was tense; her smile was gone, and the determination in her gaze was replaced with wariness. We walked on for who knows how long; we always kept the fence within sight, just in case of…I don't even know. It's too tall to climb back over, and even if faced with that or Slenderman, it'd be too slow of a way.

I don't know how long we were walking; all I know is that I felt an overwhelming sense of apprehension and paranoia that was growing as the seconds ticked by. Somebody's watch beeped, and I jumped, swearing loudly. "Who the fucks watch was that?" I asked scathingly, pissed off.

"Mine." Sarah replied a little sheepishly, turning it off quickly. "I forgot I still had the alarm on…but on another note, it's midnight now." I stiffened a little, blinking. Hurray. I'm sixteen and stuck in a forest with the thing that will kill me. It's what I always wanted for a present! (I found it a little funny that when most teenagers get something really cool for their sixteenth birthday, like a car or something, and I get my death…is it ironic that I'm going to die on my birthday? Maybe a little.)

We walked on for another good…five minutes, before Marcus stopped. "I can see something over there…" He said quietly, pointing the flashlight into the trees leading away on a small dirt path. We all exchanged a quick glance before walking towards the thing, a small crumbling building from the looks of its silhouette, warily casting glanced back to make sure the fence was still within sight. I was at the back of the group, looking around all of the trees before turning, and walking straight into Duncan's back.

"What the f-" I stopped mid sentence as I saw what was on the wall that had everybody staring wide eyed. There were words written on it; when I read it, I almost felt sick and took a step back with a hand on the nearest tree.

In dark, bloody red letters, was written three simple words.

_Happy birthday Sierra._

Everybody turned to look back at me, and I stared past them at the wall. "Sierra…?" Sarah's voice quavered and faltered as she said my name, and I shook my head a little.

"H-how the fuck does he know these things?" I asked shakily, backtracking towards the fence again.

"Why didn't you say anything about your birthday?" Marcus asked, confused. I shrugged a little, still staring at the wall.

"I…I don't know. It didn't occur to me that I needed to say anything."

A small silence followed my words, finally broken by Marissa. "Well have a happy fucking birthday, then." I didn't even have the capacity to smile right now; nobody did, and we all silently walked back to the fence and continued on. I was thoroughly shaken up by that; first off by how Slenderman knew it was my birthday. Secondly, the blood; it had to have come from something…and Slenderman didn't seem like the kind of person to write that in paint as a joke. (I don't think I can even call him a person…more like monster, I guess.)

Another long silence passed without much happening; a few more twig snaps, a muted scream from Marissa as another bird flew out of the bushes beside us, and a few little sounds like the breeze making everybody piss themselves. I was doing the worst out of all of us; every twig snap I had to bite my tongue so that I didn't shriek; every rustle of the wind, I had to look around and make sure nothing was there; every step we took made me even more paranoid than the last.

Finally, I honestly thought my sanity was going to dissipate completely; I was sure that I would snap, or something, when we came upon a tree with a small note on it. I didn't want to read it, I didn't even want to _look _at it, but Marcus pulled it off and read it out loud; it was a short, sweet message from the Slenderman himself.

"Welcome."

Underneath the bloody letters was the Operator Symbol again. The air suddenly turned icy cold; Marissa's breath came out in a puff of mist, and we all looked around. Clouds had began to drift across the sky, threatening to blot out the only other light source besides our flashlights. "That's not weird at all…" Duncan muttered to himself, trying to force a smile on his fear-stricken face. (It didn't work.)

We walked on, walking closer to one another than before. I was close to hyperventilating; my hand tapped my thigh fervently as we walked, and every few seconds I looked around. A chill was slowly creeping up my spine, and not from the cold; he was here. I knew it. He was close. Close enough to watch, far enough to stay hidden. It was frustrating, to know death was standing so close, yet so far away.

A snap behind us made me turn around, completely fear stricken. For a quick heartbeat, I thought he was there, thought I saw the flash of his tie; but it was just a tree, swaying in the frosty breeze. I sucked in a sharp breath, speeding up until I was practically walking on Marissa's heels.

Nobody dared to breathe as we trekked on. We all were rendered completely silent with fear, and not even Duncan tried to make any comments. We walked for a good fifteen minutes, coming back up to where the truck was. From the look on Sarah's face, I could tell she was contemplating hopping back over the fence and leaving. But there were no trees close enough to climb and get over, and the rug had slid down and was lying on the truck hood.

Marcus, who had his camera out (god, I completely forgot about my camera honestly…), turned and looked at us, his eyes dark with realization. "We're going nowhere by walking by the fence." He said grimly. "We have to go deeper into the forest." Marissa looked as if she was about to vomit as we slowly made our way through the trees. My gaze didn't leave the fence until it was completely hidden from sight, and I felt my stomach clench.

There was more silence as we walked; it was scaring the living hell out of me, too. I wanted some noise, something to tell me that there was still life here. But no; there was no sound of birds twittering occasionally, or the flap of their wings. There were no rustling bushes that gave away a squirrel's position. Just the crunching of the frost covered grass under our shoes, and the occasional breeze that slid through.

Another snap behind us made us all jump; Sarah was the first to turn, and she shrieked loudly. I whipped around next, feeling the color drain from my face.

He was there.

It was only a split second, but he was there.

Sarah was hysterical within a heartbeat of catching a glimpse of him; tears had begun to stream down her face and she blubbered incoherently, shaking violently. Marcus had grabbed her shoulders and was trying to calm her down, but it all seemed so distant to me. I was staring at where he was previously standing. Slowly, almost at a shuffling pace, I moved forward, coming up to the spot where he was. Two small patches of ice were on the ground; each in the shape of a shoeprint.

"Sierra!" I jumped as Marissa shakily called my name, and I looked up at her. The others were waiting for me, and I quickly bounded back to them, glancing over my shoulder. The ice I had seen was gone; maybe I'd just imagined it?

Sarah had calmed down considerably; she was still trembling, and she sniffed occasionally, sometimes sobbing a few times, and we continued on. We had no idea where we were going; all we knew was that the danger factor had just increased a few paces. He'd been spotted. And not just by me this time, either. Which must mean something…right?

My breath puffed out in front of me as we continued; I could literally feel the degrees dropping as we walked farther into the forest. I wanted to go home now; maybe then I could die peacefully, or something. But no; as I said before, we were at the point of no return. Now or never. Do or die. (Actually it'll end in dying anyways, but that's not the point.)

I have to say, I think Sarah may have been even jumpier than I was. Another twig snapped, a twig I had stepped on, and she shrieked, rounding on me with wide, fearful eyes. It took another five minutes to calm her down, and even then she kept throwing glares back at me.

I really wish we'd brought more than just our camera's and flashlights, because I got a nose bleed; a bad one, at that. I didn't even realize it until I went to wipe my nose (which I thought was running from the cold), and pulled back to see bright red on my hand. I had nothing to keep the blood from running down my face, so I just put my jacket sleeve over my nose. I don't think anybody else even noticed; I was at the back of the group, and nobody dared to turn and look around.

Another twig snap; everybody stiffened, but kept walking. Except me. I whipped around and stared wide eyed at the trees, scanning for anything. A flash of red. I stiffened, walking backwards a few paces.

He was there.

I couldn't see anything from my vantage point now; but I knew he was watching me. I knew that he was waiting. I turned and ran towards where the others were (they'd sped up at the twig snap, and were already a ways ahead of me). I felt like screaming, but felt a small trickle of relief me as I blundered through a bush towards them.

"Holy shit Sierra what happened?" Andrew asked as I pulled my hoodie sleeve away and looked behind me warily.

"N-nosebleed. He was there. I saw him." My voice was tight and high pitched with fear, and I was trembling a little; my flashlight was held so tightly in my hand, it hurt.

"W-we have to get out of here!" Sarah whimpered.

"How? There is no way out!" Marcus retorted tightly. He sounded as if he regretted this decision, though his camera hadn't left his hand since we'd hopped the fence.

"This was a bad idea." Duncan muttered, his hands clapped over his ears as if he didn't want to listen to anymore arguments.

"Bad? BAD?! This was the WORST idea ever!" Sarah exploded, rounding on Marcus with narrowed eyes. "You've damned us all! You've led us to our death! Maybe if we would've done the sensible thing and stayed at home, only one of us would've ended up dead!" She rounded on me this time, spitting venom. "And YOU! Who in the hell gives you the right to waltz up to us and tell us that you're just going to join in with our investigations? If it wasn't for YOU, we may have had a chance to LIVE!"

**AN:: And who would've thought Sarah would be the first to snap.**

**Don't forget to R&R~!  
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	21. Chapter 20

**AN:: Hey guys! I'm SOO SOO Sorry for the long wait for this chapter! I've been so busy with school, plus writers block...and to add onto that, I've got a few comic deadlines I'm trying to manage, and it's all a little stressful...But here it is!  
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**I'm sorry if the Gore in the chapter is terrible; I'm actually REALLY bad at writing gore X'33 I'll try to get the next chapter up by...tomorrow, hopefully.  
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**Don't forget to R&R~!  
**

Chapter 20

Everybody could only stare in shock at Sarah. She had always been the quiet one; hell, she was even one of the first to offer to want to go on this trip. Now…now I just wanted to slap some sense into her, despite the situation. Accusing me of bringing them here? Of being the cause that nobody was going to survive? No. It was nobody's fault; everybody here wanted to come and get evidence. She knew just as well as everyone else in our group that it was a one way ticket.

Before I could even open my mouth to reply, Sarah jumped towards me; of course, all I had to do was take a step backwards to avoid her. She wasn't known for being that fast, honestly. I really wanted to take a swing at her, but before I could Marissa intercepted, shoving her back against a tree with an arm put up over her neck.

"God damn it Sarah, calm the fuck down!" She hissed, putting a hand over Sarah's mouth as she began to scream a string of cuss words. I winced as I saw her bite Marissa, but she hardly seemed to flinch. "Nobody here gives two fucks if you're scared; we're all scared! Blaming one another is going to get us nowhere, fucktard!"

Sarah had stopped struggling and was glaring at Marissa now, who removed her hand a second later. As she opened her mouth to scream again (at least, I think that's why), Marissa cut her off with a warning stare. "Scream one more word and I swear to you that I will cut your throat and leave you to the Slenderman." Everyone seemed a little surprised by her threat, but at least it shut Sarah up. She quickly shut her mouth and, with a nervous glance at Marissa as she let her go, shuffled back towards the others. She shot me one mutinous look before we started off again.

For some reason, I ended up in the lead; possibly because the others had taken Sarah's accusations into account and thought it was possible. Or maybe everybody was just scared out of their minds and my pace was a little faster, I don't know…I was more on edge than anybody else, though. Every sound made me whip around to face it, every mutter from the others I cut off with a hiss. I'm pretty sure my edginess was passed between them, because pretty soon every sound we made was met by irritated swears from the others.

The temperature was still dropping, too; I could literally see the frost forming on the bushes and leaves as we walked passed. (Or maybe it was just some illusion or something…?) I gradually began to drop back, my pace slowing before coming to a complete stop.

There was another set of footsteps farther back.

I could only tell because of the crunch of frosty grass…but who was it? I'm pretty sure Slenderman didn't make any noise whenever he moved…hell, did he even walk to get around? Did he teleport, or float, or…whatever. But the others obviously couldn't hear the footsteps; and if they did, they might not have noticed or put it off as their own.

I stood there for a few moments, my mind racing; I knew it was really stupid to just stand in the forest where my death awaits (literally), but the footsteps confused me; everybody in our group was with us, nobody had been left behind…who was making the sound, then?

The footsteps suddenly stopped, and I stiffened; where had the others gone? I turned around slowly, looking for their footprints, but all I saw was the frost stiffened grass. I was too terrified to call out for them, too…had I walked straight into a trap? The hand tapping my thigh sped up, and I began to tremble.

Was I going to be the first to die? Was I going to be the only one to die? Maybe I should try and find the fence again…maybe then I could;

Something cold grabbed my shoulder.

First instinct took over and I shrieked as loudly as possible, running away. I only took a few steps before I tripped over my own feet, stumbling forward before landing on the cold ground. I flipped over onto my butt, the breath catching in my throat.

I stared at his blank face for a few long seconds, completely stiff with terror.

But…no, something wasn't right. The fear ebbed; I sat staring at the figure incredulously. It wasn't Him…an illusion? A figment of my imagination?

"Twice in a row, huh?" I narrowed my eyes, hauling myself to my feet. It was the guy from the party; but why was he here? Did he follow us? "Remembering me now, huh?" He sneered, folding his arms behind his back.

"You fucking asshole!" I muttered, clenching my hands together.

"What's the matter? Little 'ole Slendy still scaring you?" He taunted, leaning against the tree behind him.

"S-Sierra?" I heard Marissa's shaking voice a moment before she stepped out of the bushes beside me, shrieking in alarm and falling backwards as she saw the fake Slenderman ahead. He laughed again, doubling over.

"What's the matter? Afraid I'm gonna kill you all?" He crowed, standing up and waving his hands. "Oooooohh, big scary Slenderman is gonna kill your families!"

I was either too pissed or too shaken to even move, so I just stood glaring at him. He turned towards me, and walked forward. "Aww, did you pee your pants? Too scared to do anything? Did -"

Maybe I blacked out for a few minutes or something…because I don't really remember what happened next. I remember seeing the fake Slenderman standing in front of us, then everything went dark for maybe…not even a second, and he was gone.

"What the fuck?" I heard Duncan's voice behind me as I stepped forward, looking around warily. "Was that all just some big joke? Was that really -"

"Slenderman." I said quietly, staring into the trees.

"You know that wasn't him, right?" Marissa asked, coming to stand behind me. "He w-"

"Slenderman got him." I stated bluntly, sweeping the flashlight around. "He's gone…good as dead." An odd silence followed my words. Maybe they were letting it sink in, or maybe just too scared to-

From not far off, there was a loud high pitched scream, a guy's scream, followed by the most gut wrenching, wet tearing sound. I bit my knuckle, putting one hand on my knee to keep from getting sick. None of us moved; we hardly dared to breathe as we all unwillingly listened. "HELP ME!" The man shrieked, but his voice was cut off near the end with a loud crunching sound. I stood rigidly, waiting for him to scream again.

But there was only silence.

Without thinking, I shakily started towards where his voice came from, the others following hesitantly. I could hear a steady dripping from up ahead, and refused to think about it as my hand tapped my thigh faster. I was the first one to step out into the small clearing where the voices originated from.

I was the last one to utter a sound or even move.

I stood frozen in terror as I stared at the scene in front of me. The Slenderman imposter was there, alright; his torso was impaled on a tree branch high up in the bare branches of the trees. Blood poured from the huge ragged gash in his chest, the intestines taken out and strewn across the trees around like some kind of string of sick Christmas lights. Blood covered the entire forest floor, dripping down the leaves and bushes and falling into dark puddles at my feet. His arms and legs had been pulled from their sockets, hanging only by a few tendons and the shards of bone that weren't shattered completely. His face stared down at the ground, directly where I stood; the eyes had been gouged out and blood poured down from the dark empty sockets; the jaw looked broken as it hung loosely.

I stared back at the dark eye sockets, stiff with terror. The sounds of the others screaming and retching sounded a long ways off, though they were all right behind me. I could only stare; I tried to move, tried to turn away, something, but I couldn't. I couldn't register the fact that this man, the man who was only playing a little joke on us, was dead. Dead at the hands of the _real_ Slenderman. Finally my body reacted and I convulsed, grabbing the tree beside me as I joined the chorus of vomiting.

Sarah looked like she'd lost it; tears streaked down her face, her mascara making dark streaks along. Her hair was frizzed out and she was sobbing and blubbering uncontrollably, shaking so hard that she had to grab Marcus' arm to stand. Marissa's back was turned to me, but I could hear her trying to suppress sobs, as well as Duncan. Marcus' eyes were wide, the dark circles under them more prominent than ever; he turned and met my gaze, his bottom lip trembling a little.

"That's us." He managed to choke out, fear pulsing through his gaze. "That's what's going to happen to us. One by one. Piece by piece. We're all going to die just like this man."


	22. Chapter 21

**AN:: AAAHHH I'm really sorry for the delay for this chapter; School's been getting in the way of my writing time, plus I had an intense bout of writer's block for a while...;**** This chapter really isn't all that good in my opinion, but tried to make it creepy...but I failed *shrug* I'll hopefully get the ball rolling next chapter...  
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**Anyways, don't forget to R&R as usual~!  
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**P.S. - Thank you all for the wonderful reviews! 3 They're really nice and some of them I just...alkagnsrtsd 333  
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No. No matter what Marcus said, there was still a small sliver of hope flaring inside me; dim, but it was still there. Without hesitating I grabbed his arm and started marching through the trees, grabbing Marissa's and Sarah's as I went. Duncan exchanged a glance with Andrew before following as well, and I didn't stop until we were at the fence again.

"We have to leave!" Marissa said, her voice quivering as she turned and looked around. "W-we can't stay here…We have to leave…"

"How?" Marcus asked, rounding on her. "There's no way out!"

"There's always a way out! Th-there has to be!" She said, desperation creeping into her voice. I stared around at the fence, looking for any signs of a way to get out.

"How did that guy get in? Did he use your truck? Maybe there's a way out around there!" Duncan suggested, rubbing the back of his neck. Before I could say anything, the others had started off along the fence…except for Sarah. She stood staring numbly out towards where we came from, a bleak expression on her face.

I reached forward and grabbed her arm gently, only for her to yank it away and glare at me. Maybe it was just me, but her eyes looked a lot darker than usual. "Don't touch me!" She hissed, stomping after everyone else. I quickly followed, a shudder running down my back. Something was wrong.

"S-Sarah?" I managed after a few moments, but she didn't answer, just stomped on, picking up the pace a little. "Sarah!" Still, no answer. I was about to run to catch up with her when she took a sudden left turn, heading back into the forest. "Wh-where are you going?" I called after her, stopping.

"They went this way!" She said over her shoulder idly, waving a hand.

"B-but we were heading back towards the truck!"

"Look, do you want to head around the fence and be left alone, or are you going to follow? I saw them go this way!" She spat, turning on her heel to glare at me. She was too far away for me to see, but again, her eyes looked darker than usual…I took a deep breath before slowly following, my uneasiness only growing as I caught up to her again.

"A-are you sure…?" I asked quietly, looking around nervously.

"Positive." She sniffed, pushing aside an overhanging tree branch. I stopped, finally aware of what was bugging me.

"You're not scared." I said.

"Huh?" Sarah stopped, not even bothering to look back at me.

"You aren't scared. N-no shaking, no crying…" I said again, taking a step back. Sarah turned and looked at me, huffing.

"Because, there's a way out!" She said loudly, stomping up to the tree branch again and glaring at me. "Maybe if we spent less time freaking out and more time trying to get out, we'd be making progress!"

"You were crying hysterically not even five minutes ago!" I countered, taking another step back. Sarah ran a hand through her hair, taking a slow breath.

"Because I want out of here!" She growled, her voice shaking as if she was trying to keep from yelling.

"Maybe we should go back with the others then!" I said, turning around. "They didn't come this way; we would've seen footprints or heard them or something."

"I know they went this way!" Sarah yelled, stomping up behind me.

"Really? Can you show me some proof then?" I retorted, starting back towards the fence. If she wants to go into the middle of this god-forsaken place, then that's fine with me; but there's no way in hell that I'm going to follow. I heard the sound of her stomping behind me a moment before she grabbed my arm and spun me around to face her.

"I know what I'm doing!" She snarled, tightening her grip. "It's either you follow me to the others, or you go off on your own and end up dying!" I tried to wrench myself from her grip, but it only tightened more. "I swear to god, Sierra, I will -" She ranted on, but I didn't hear much more of it; I was staring at her eyes. I finally wrenched myself out of her grip, stumbling backwards a pace or two.

"Your…your eyes…" I gasped, taking a few more steps back. Her eyes were pitch black; not just the iris, or the pupil; _all of it._

The glare on her face disappeared, only to be replaced with a smile as she stepped forward again. "Don't you want to get out?" She asked, her eyes trained on me. "There's only one way out…"

"A-and what's that…?" I asked, swallowing the lump in my throat. Sarah's smile widened as she took another step forward.

"Death, of course." Before I even had a chance to react, she leapt forward, slapping her hand over my mouth, and using her other hand to hold my arms behind my back. "Don't you want out?" She asked, her smile even wider than before. "Don't you want to just leave? To get it all over with? Slenderman can do that; it'll be all over before you can even -" She didn't get to finish. I bit her hand as hard as I could, making her scream and let go before turning and running back towards the fence.

I hardly dared to even look back, but I could hear her following me; I reached the fence and veered to the left, following it until the truck came into view. Relief washed over me as I saw Marcus was standing there by the fence, while Duncan and Marissa tried to climb the fence. Andrew was shining the light around at the trees with a worried expression.

"Sierra!" Andrew called as he saw me running up to them. I skidded to a halt beside Marcus, grabbing the fence for support while looking over my shoulder.

"Did you see Slenderman?" Marissa asked, jumping down from the fence. I shook my head, pulling myself to an upright pose and looking around again.

"S…Sarah…"

"What about her?"

"She's…She's…"

"Dead?"

"No…" Before I could find the right words, Sarah walked out of the bushes behind me, a blank look on her face. I scrabbled backwards again, pushing to the back of the group as she walked forward.

"Sarah! Thank god you're alright!" Duncan said, starting towards her. I grabbed his arm, shaking my head when he looked back at me.

"Th-that's not Sarah."

"What?"

"H-her eyes…" I shakily pointed at her, my voice quivering. "He-her eyes are black…that's not…" I could hardly even finish my sentence, but the others got what I was saying. (At least, I think they did.)

Sarah laughed. "Don't you want to get out?" She asked, taking a step closer. "Don't you want to be free? Slenderman can help you…he can make all of this go away now. All we have to do is go to him…then it'll all be over." She stepped closer again. "Let's all go, it'll be over…we won't feel a thing…quick, easy…" I couldn't listen to anymore. Without thinking, I threw my flashlight at her, hitting her directly between the eyes and making her stumble and fall.

I stared wide eyed at her as her hands twitched, and she sat up again, a thin trail of blood trickling down where the flashlight had hit her. "Don't you want it all to be over with?" She asked, her voice rising to a yell. "Don't you want to leave, now? For it all to be over and done with? He can help! He will -" Another flashlight flew at her, and hit her temple; she fell again, her hands twitching, before she stopped moving all together.

There was complete silence as we all stared at Sarah's still body; I finally broke away from the group, inching towards her. Her eyes, still completely black, stared up at nothing as blood ran down from her temple, and I stepped backwards again. "She's dead." I managed to say. We stood staring for a long time before Marissa turned back to the fence.

"There's no way out of here by climbing." She said shakily, trying to keep from looking in Sarah's direction. "A-and we can't find anything to use to climb up over the fence, either…"

Another long pause followed her words before we all turned and started around the fence again, leaving Sarah's body behind. "And you said there was no such thing as a proxy." Marissa muttered under her breath, trying to force a smile despite the fear quivering in her voice.


	23. Chapter 22

**AN:: AHAhAHAHA Sorry for the delay OUO;; I don't really have an excuse besides putting off on working on it...but tonight I felt I should update; I don't remember whenever I updated last X'D**

**Anywho, I've also got a little story before the story! (Budum, tss~) ... (sorry X'3)**** But I finished this chapter a good...ohhh...two, three hours ago perhaps? I was going to upload it right away but I had to go to the store with my dad (and he wasn't prepared to wait for my slow computer to try and fail to load the pages a few times). It wasn't really all that bad, besides a slight cloud cover. It was already dark out whenever we left anyways, and it was a perfect Slenderman night; dark(duh), cold, and with a slight breeze blowing around...X333  
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**Anyways, we were heading into town (Wichita KS, just in case anybody wants specifics XD), and there's a fair amount of trees around there; I was just kind of staring out the window, planning the next chapter whenever something in the trees caught my eye, and I thought I saw Slenderman...not his face or anything, just his body. I practically flipped a bitch whenever I saw it, confusing my dad, but I calmed down, putting it off as me having recently been in Slender-mode to write. Well we passed another bunch of trees not long afterwards, and again, I saw the same thing.  
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**Maybe's he's out to get me. .;  
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**.;  
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**So uh. On a totally unrelated topic *coughcough* I'll hopefully be updating a little more...(I wanna finish this story before Slendy gets me XD )  
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**Thanks for reading my whole huge AN, and don't forget to R&R~! (I've been so excited for this chapter for a long while X3)  
**

With Sarah's death and her last words hanging over us heavily, we trekked on. Everyone was still a bit shaken up, Duncan especially, by the looks of it. He kept twitching and glancing over his shoulder towards where we'd left Sarah, wringing his hands together nervously. I couldn't help glance over my shoulder a few times as well, shuddering every time. I couldn't get over the fact that Sarah was dead; and not even killed by Slenderman, but by us…

"G-guys…?" Marissa's voice pulled me out of my thoughts and I glanced over at her. She was staring into the trees, her eyes wide and her hands quivering. "Wh…wha…" She started, cutting herself off with a shriek of fear. Before any of us could move she'd turned and bolted into the trees, dropping her flashlight in her fear. I opened my mouth to say something, stopping as laughter echoed through the trees.

Out of the bushes where Marissa was looking walked Sarah, blood still trickling from her temple and covering a good portion of the left side of her head. A huge smile was plastered on her face, her eyes bright despite the deep blackness of them. "Are you guys just going to leave me?" She asked in a sing-song voice, taking a step closer. "Just gonna leave me out of all the fun?" She laughed again as we all stood staring wide eyed at her, gaping. "Why'd you do that?" She suddenly became serious, her eyes darkening. "I don't appreciate being left out of the fun."

I was the last to start moving; too petrified by fear as Sarah laughed again, slowly walking forward. I deftly heard one of the guys yell my name before I snapped out of my daze and charged after them, trying to block out the laughter of Sarah behind me. "Aww, come on! Don't you want to meet Slendy?" Sarah's voice echoed around, sounding louder than before. There was a rustling up ahead towards my left and I turned sharply into the trees, heading deeper into the woods.

It became clear that I was either led into a trap, or the others doubled back as I continued; the undergrowth became more dense, making walking hard and running damn-near impossible. I could hear rustling behind me as well, but I was too terrified to turn and look; whether it was from myself crashing through the trees or Sarah being only a few feet behind me, I wasn't keen on finding out.

I yelped in surprise as my foot caught yet again, this time sending me crashing into a thick bush. I tried to scrabble away, but whatever I'd tripped on had wrapped itself around my ankle and I was stuck. I could only sit with bated breath as I heard the bushes rustle, stopping suddenly. Before I even had time to think of what had happened, Sarah jumped out of the bushes, dropping onto my chest and forcing what little air was left in me out of my lungs. She giggled a little, leaning down close enough for me to see my reflection in her eyes. In my state of complete fear, I hadn't realized that her hands had slipped around my neck until she started to slowly put pressure on my throat. She giggled again as the fear on my face was replaced by panic, leaning closer and whispering one word in my ear.

"Gotcha."

And then she was gone.

I stared blankly up, gasping for air, looking for any traces of where she'd disappeared to. But no, she was just…gone. As if she disappeared into thin air. I slowly sat up, untangling my ankle from whatever was holding it and pulling my knees up to my chin. _Was that…just an illusion? A trick? _I wondered, rubbing my neck where her thumbs had pressed. _How? Illusions aren't real, meaning she couldn't have been really choking me…but…_A snap to my left made me jump, closely followed by a muffled giggle, and I jumped to my feet, grabbing the flashlight after a short hesitation, and took off towards the right, where the undergrowth seemed to thin out a little.

I was a little surprised when I stumbled into a wide clearing, scanning the edges for any signs of movement. The clearing scared me; for whatever reason I don't know why. Most likely because it left me open for anybody to see, while I wouldn't be able to see them…I thought about turning and heading back, but the giggling again echoed behind me and drove me forward into the clearing. I stood in the very outer edge for a long moment, stiffening a little as I heard a snap of a twig on the other side, followed by the distant voices of Marissa and Marcus. A rush of relief hit me and I ran across the clearing, stopping halfway across as a sudden chill swept across me and the sky darkened. Glancing up, I saw that a thick patch of clouds had covered the moon, but that didn't explain the chill…

And quite suddenly, I knew exactly what happened.

I stiffened, closing my eyes and telling myself not to turn around, to just continue forward and forget about what my head tried to tell me. But, telling myself not to turn was trying to command my heart to stop beating, and I slowly turned, one eye opening slightly.

Both eyes shot open and I opened my mouth to scream, but only a hoarse yelp escaped from me.

_He was there._

Fear gripped my heart and I could only stare as my mind tried to process what to do, but I was stuck; every fiber within me told me to run, but instinct told me not to turn my back on Him. The flashlight slipped from my hand and hit the ground with a soft _thump, _the light flickering twice before turning off completely, the only light now being the faint moonlight that filtered between holes in the clouds, yet I could still see him clearly. Long, almost gangly looking limbs, jet black suit with the crimson tie, the long tentacle like appendages coming from his back, the pale, featureless face…

Static began to buzz in the back of my mind as I tried desperately to move, managing to stumble backwards a pace before a thick fog covered my mind, scattering all thoughts and chasing away all instincts. I felt my shoulders relax, and for a moment I forgot what I was scared of, though I couldn't pull my gaze away from his face. The Slenderman had moved closer as I tried to recollect my thoughts, blinking slowly as I watched him stop only a few paces away.

"_**Do not be frightened, child." **_

The sudden voice in my head didn't scare me, but instead confused me; it was odd. Toneless, it sounded both cold and angry, yet calm and comforting…I hardly dared to breathe as I watched one of his long arms unfold from behind him, extending the hand towards me with twitching fingers.

"_**I wish to help you."**_

Somewhere from within the fog of my mind, fear made itself apparent and I jerked backwards again, the fear telling me to run as far away, as fast as possible…

But I didn't _want_ to run.

His voice was comforting. _HE_ was comforting. I wanted the comfort, but I didn't know why…Again He'd moved closer, His fingers twitching again.

"_**Do not be frightened."**_

His voice soothed the fear to a dull feeling in the back of my head, hidden by the , almost painfully slow, I reached my own hand towards His, my eyes never leaving His featureless face. The static in my head was almost painfully loud now, growing even louder as my fingers grazed His icy cold ones. The moment my hand had made contact, his own had wrapped around my hand, His grip tightening so He had a firm grip on my wrist. The tentacles from his back slowly moved towards me and I felt them wrap around my arms and waist…

A deafening shriek from the trees nearby broke through the layer of fog and static in my mind, quickly followed by a flicker of light. Not even a heartbeat later a flashlight flew through the air in front of my face, smashing into a nearby tree with a loud crash, and the grip on my wrist and waist loosened. Another small batch of clouds covered the moon, sending the clearing into complete darkness for a moment. The static in my head receded and, with a blink, He was gone.

As the clouds passed and the moon shone again, a flashlight clicked on, almost blinding me, but I was still too confused to understand what was happening, the fog still thick in my head. Moving and thinking was hard and sluggish, as if I was being weighed down mentally and physically, and I felt completely exhausted, mentally and physically. I didn't know why I was exhausted, but it had certainly taken its toll; I staggered forwards a pace to where Slenderman was standing not even a moment ago, falling to my knees. I was deftly aware of the two shoeprint-shaped ice patches on the grass in front of me as the ground rushed forward, and everything spun away into darkness.


	24. Chapter 23

**AN:: OHMYGOODNESS I AM SO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING IN FOREVER I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO SAY. I have just been so busy lately, what with finals, my birthday, Christmas, plus a few comic pages I needed to get done...But hey; it's been Winter Break for almost two weeks, so...yay? ^^; I don't have any excuse besides that I've been putting this off because of more important things I needed to get done...But I'm going to try and finish this story as fast as possible, since it's drawing to a close fairly quickly~ ;3**

**So stay tuned, and don't forget to R&R~! 3  
**

I jerked awake, my eyes snapping open to reveal the tree tops above me and the starry sky beyond. I stared for a few long moments, my mind reeling, before sitting up slowly, shutting my eyes as my head pounded painfully_. What happened? I can't remember…Was I hit in the head? Did Sarah get me?_

Was I dead?

I stared around for a few long moments, uncomfortably aware of how dark and quiet it was. Where were the others? Had they abandoned me? Were they looking for me? Was I lost? Maybe I had-

My thoughts were broken into by a laugh from not far away; I turned my head towards the sound, blinking. It sounded familiar…too familiar. I stood up unsteadily, using a nearby tree to keep my balance, and followed the sound. Maybe somebody was here, looking for us? Maybe we'll be taken away from this place, and…I don't know. Be thrown into a psychiatric ward? Well, at least it's better than this place…

The trees stopped abruptly, and I found myself staring at a run-down looking house. It seemed faintly familiar too, but I can't remember why…In the backyard was a little girl; she had her long black hair put into a neat looking braid…Just like how I used to put my hair up when I was little. She was holding a doll in one hand, drawing with chalk on the sidewalk. She kept glancing up at the forest for some reason…

The fourth time she glanced up, she smiled and jumped to her feet, dropping the doll. She started to run towards the trees, stopping as a voice filtered from inside the house, faint and indistinct.

"Okay! I'm just getting my toys!" The girl called back, starting towards the trees again. I moved out into the open a little more so I could see what she was looking at, but still, I only saw trees. The girl slowed as she came closer to the trees, stopping fully and staring up at them with a smile on her face. "Hey! Come out and play with me!" She called into the trees. I blinked in surprise. Was somebody standing there?

Again I moved so I might be able to see who or what she was talking to, but still, I only saw trees. The girls face faltered, a frown crossing her face.

"B…but I can't go in there…" She said a little shakily. Did somebody say something to her? I didn't hear anything…

"No! It's…its dark and scary in there! I don't want to!" She said again, stepping back and pulling her hands to her chest. From inside the trees something moved, and I drew in a sharp breath, eyes widening. _It was him._

Why hadn't I realized this before? I was in a freaking forest with him right now! But…if I was in the forest with him, then why was there a house in here…and a little girl, for that matter? I don't know why I didn't realize this before…What the fuck is going on?

I tried to run towards the girl, tried to scream or yell or something, but I couldn't move; I felt paralyzed, and when I tried to scream no sound came out. I could only stand and watch as He stepped out of the trees and reached a hand towards the girl, grabbing her shoulder and making her scream. She writhed around for a minute before he let go and she ran back to the house, screaming. From this far away it was a little hard to see, but the mark he'd left was as easy to see as if it was right in front of my face; the Operator's Symbol. My hand instantly went to my shoulder and traced over the 'birthmark' left by Slenderman years ago. It finally hit me;

This little girl was me. The memory I had lost of the man in the suit. I was watching it all happen, as if it was on TV…And it all hit me like a punch to the gut. I remembered it all; befriending Him not that long after school one day; going to 'play' with him everyday I could; watching him just stand there in the trees before he would disappear; going to play with him, only to have him scar my shoulder.

The whole scene in front of me blurred and spun away until I was left in complete darkness. I idly began to wonder if I was dead again until something grabbed my shoulder and shook it. I heard somebody's voice, faint and slurred, and I opened my eyes to tiny slits.

My head pounded as whoever was shaking my shoulders, Marcus, stopped, staring at me wide eyed. I could only sit and stare as I tried to recollect my thoughts, staring into the dark trees. Marissa stood not far away, sobbing hysterically with tears running down her face. Andrew sat at the base of a big rock, watching with a blank look on his face, while Duncan paced around, muttering darkly to himself. It took me a few long minutes to realize that Marcus was trying to talk to me.

"…-ierra, can you hear me? Are you okay?" I looked back at him, managing to give a small nod in recognition. "Can you say anything?" Marcus continued to ask.

"Just stop it already!" Duncan said, stopping and glaring at me. "Just look at her eyes; she's just like Sarah! We should just leave her…or kill her, better yet, so she doesn't come after us!"

_My eyes? What was wrong with my eyes?_ They didn't feel bad or anything…

"Duncan, shut up." Marcus snapped, turning back towards me. "Sierra, can you say anything?"

I stared at him for another moment before swallowing the lump in my throat and asking hoarsely, "Am I dead?" Marcus shook his head.

"No…but you gave a good run for it…" He added, trying to lighten the mood a little. I furrowed my brow for a moment, thinking. What'd he mean by that? I hadn't…

My eyes widened as I remembered what had happened before I'd blacked out, and I began to tremble. _I…Slenderman…_I thought, trying to piece it together. _I…I almost died…he…he almost had me…_

"S-Sierra?" I looked up at Marissa, my eyes wide still. She looked just as scared and freaked out as I felt. "What…what happened…back th-there…?" She asked. I looked down, thinking.

"I…I…I don't know…" I managed to say quietly. "I just…I couldn't think…couldn't run…couldn't do anything…it was like he just…blacked out all instincts…and then…" I trailed off, thinking. None of this made sense; how could this have happened…? _It…I just…_

With Marcus' help I managed to get to my feet, holding onto his arm for support. "Marcus, I swear to god if you try to help her -" Duncan started, stopping as Marcus sighed heavily.

"I swear to god that we'll leave you behind if you don't shut the hell up." He snapped. "We aren't leaving Sierra behind."

"Just look at her!" Duncan yelled, gesturing towards me. "Her eyes are pitch black; if we don't kill her, she'll kill us!" He spat. Marissa looked at me fearfully, hiccupping and taking a step backwards towards Duncan. Andrew was still staring blankly ahead as if he'd heard nothing of the conversation; I wearily glanced up at the sky before looking back over towards Duncan.

"Maybe we should hurry rather than argue." I said dully, swaying on my feet. "I'm pretty sure we're just waiting to get caught just standing here; so how about a little less talking and a little more walking?" Without waiting for anybody I pulled out of Marcus' grasp and began to walk; I didn't even feel like myself anymore. I just wanted to get out…to be free…

I heard the others not far behind me and slowed my pace a little; again I was starting to feel woozy and grabbed onto Marcus' arm. The edges of my vision were turning fuzzy and black…

A high pitched laugh filtered through the trees ahead of us and we all stopped, staring around worriedly. The bushes opposite of where we stood rustled and out stepped a little girl, her short curly black hair shining and huge innocent eyes sparkling. "S-Sadie?!" Marcus gasped, staggering backwards a pace. I tightened my grip on his arm, my eyes narrowing.

"Marcus, it isn't real." I said quietly. Sadie frowned, looking around for a minute before looking back at Marcus.

"Why are you guys here, anyways? It's so dark and boring…" She laughed again, the sound echoing in the near silence for a few long moments before falling into silence again. "The tall man is here, too." She mused. "I saw him."

"Y-you _saw_ him?!" Marcus exclaimed. Sadie nodded.

"Yep! And he wants to play with us!" She said. Without another word she turned around and ran back through the trees, laughing.

"SADIE!" Marcus screamed, tearing out of my grasp and running after her.

"Marcus! It isn't real!" Marissa yelled after him, charging after Andrew as he followed. I began to follow, stumbling and falling to my knees weakly. Duncan stood still, glaring at me.

"You know…" He murmured, walking around me in a slow circle. "You really are just weighing us down."

"Look who's talking." I huffed, pulling myself up to my feet again. "Staying behind -"

"To make sure you don't wander away to wait and kill us." He said simply. It sounded to me as if he'd thought this whole thing through…From behind him his back he pulled something long and black out. He gripped it in both hands and pulled sharply, pulling the sheath off of a long knife. He tapped the tip of the knife against his finger, leaning against a tree. "I could just as easily finish you off right here, right now…It'd make it easier for everyone." He mused, half to himself.

"Ya know, I never did trust you." He continued. "You showed up out of the blue ranting on about 'oh, I've seen Slenderman and he wants to kill me and blah blah blah'." He waved the knife around mutinously, sneering. "What a coincidence, that you see him all the time and then found us, a group of kids bent on getting evidence of his existence…"

"What's your point?" I asked, leaning against the tree behind me.

"My point is, I don't trust you, and I never will." He said. He held up the knife and advanced, making me stagger backwards away from the tree worriedly. "Killing you right here, right now would be the best thing to do for everyone. Maybe even make Slenderman leave us alone."

"Oh, I highly doubt that." I said darkly. He looked faintly surprised by my voice as I hauled myself up to my feet, smiling slightly. I took a small step towards him, and everything went black.

Whatever had happened to me, whether I'd passed out, or…whatever, I came to not that long afterwards. Everything was bleary and dark, and my head pounded. I reached a hand up to my head and held it, recoiling a moment later at the touch of something warm and wet on my hand. My vision had yet to return to normal as I tried to make sense of whatever had and was happening.

I realized a few moments later that I was sitting on something; I couldn't tell what, but it was wet…and felt familiar. Clamped in one of my hands was something, I guessed…a stick, maybe. I rubbed my eyes with my free hand and looked down, blinking as my vision came back into focus.

Realization hit me and I screamed, scrabbling backwards in a mixture of disgust and fear.

The 'thing' I'd been sitting on was a body; Duncan's body, to be exact. Covered in blood and dirt, he lay face up, his eyes wide and mouth parted slightly. The thing clamped in my hand was his knife; covered in his blood, as well as my arms, torso, and legs. I dropped the knife with a shaky hand and stood up, backing myself up against a tree while I tried to keep from hyperventilating.

I killed Duncan.


	25. Chapter 24

All I could do was stand and stare for a few long minutes, my hands shaking violently as I tried to figure out what happened. How could I have done this? I couldn't have…! I could hardly watch scary movies with blood without freaking out…This wasn't…it can't…

"Sierra? Sierra!" Marcus' voice from not far off made me jump; I stared down at Duncan's body for a long moment before turning around and running. I couldn't bear to face them; what could I say? I couldn't tell them that I blacked out and when I regained consciousness Duncan was dead at my hands! "Sier-" I heard Marcus again, his voice cut off by Marissa's high pitched shriek. They'd found him.

I didn't know which way I was going but I eventually came out in a big clearing and stopped, doubling over as I tried to catch my breath. _No…no…please just…make it stop…_I thought, whimpering. This couldn't be real; it had to be some sort of illusion, or…or…

A sound behind me made me stand up, and I turned to see _him._ He was there for not even half a second, disappearing right in front of my eyes. I could literally feel what was left of my sanity beginning to ebb away as I stood there, staring at the trees with tears forming in my eyes. I dropped to my knees, flopping onto my side and wrapping my arms around my legs. _Just…just…stop…..please….._I pleaded silently, sobbing.

"You!" A scream behind me made me jump and I looked over my shoulder to see Marissa charging towards me, looking madder than ever. Before I could even react she leapt, the momentum making us roll until she had me pinned to the ground. I didn't even try to struggle; I merely sat limply, staring up at her with bleary eyes. "You son of a bitch! YOU KILLED HIM!" She screamed, wrapping her hands around my throat much like the fake Sarah had done. I didn't even bother to breathe; if Marissa killed me, then I'd be out of this hell hole forever.

"HOW COULD YOU?!" She wailed, her hands trembling. She let go after a few failed attempts to tighten her grip and she sat sobbing. I stared up at the sky blankly; what else could I do? I didn't want to live anymore; not after everything I'd been through. _If only I still had the knife…_I thought, shivering. One slice to the neck, and it'd all be over…

The idea was so enticing that I managed to sit up and push Marissa off me before I even knew what I was doing. I stopped and sat staring at the trees for a few long moments, sweeping my gaze around the clearing anxiously.

"The trees are closer together…" I managed to croak out. Marcus and Andrew, who were standing a ways away watching, looked around, looking surprised. The trees were indeed closer together; so close that, upon further inspection, I realized they were too close for anybody to squeeze through. "We're trapped in here." I said flatly.

"_**Well that certainly took you a while to realize."**_

Everybody's heads snapped up at the sudden voice breaking the silence. Marissa, still pissed at me and upset about Duncan, didn't seem to realize, while Andrew and Marcus moved closer together with worried and scared looks. I shakily stood up and turned in a slow circle, shivering. A flashlight, which was gripped tightly in Andrew's hand, flickered a few times before shutting off, plunging the clearing into darkness once more.

"N-no…" I whimpered, turning around once more. "H…he can't…I…"

"_**At a loss for words, my dear child?"**_

I felt a cold shiver crawl up my back and I stiffened. _He was right behind me._ I didn't even have to turn around to know; Marissa screamed at the top of her lungs (even louder than before, to my surprise) and scrabbled backwards, her eyes bulging. Marcus' mouth was open in a silent scream, while Andrew turned and tried to find a break in the trees, which were so close that they formed a near-perfect wall.

The grass underfoot began to crackle and I looked down to see frost forming on it, quickly spreading from the figure behind me. I managed to stumble forward as well, tripping over Marissa and stumbling into a boulder.

"_**My, we seem a little shaken up."**_

The voice, though toneless, had the slightest hint of amusement and I curled my hands into fists, pounding it on the rock. He was fucking with us!

"Y…y-you…" Marissa stuttered, still staring in his direction. "Y…you t…ta…"

"_**Talked?"**_

Marissa's jaw snapped shut and she just stared at him for a long while, whimpering. I managed to stand up straight, trembling, and I turned around, staring at His feet. "A-are you done having fun?" I asked scathingly. "D-done with your games? Are you going to kill us now?"

"_**Feeling a little brave, are we?" **_

He droned.

"_**Perhaps, in time, I will. But why not show some…'manners', and look at me when you speak?"**_

I stiffened, closing my eyes tightly as static sounded in the back of my head, and I smiled a little. "Y-you think your tricks will work…" I said, laughing a little. "Hah…I'm surprised I've fallen for it…"

"_**They've worked on you before."**_

I shook my head a little bit, the smile fading. "Maybe…but I highly doubt -"

"_**Why do you think you killed Duncan?"**_

"IT _WAS_ YOU!" Andrew screamed, bringing my attention to him. I'd forgotten he was even here…Before anybody could react he stood up and charged me like Marissa had, grabbing me and slamming my head into the rock. "HE WAS MY _BROTHER!" _He yelled, choking on his words. Stars popped in my vision and I felt the back of my head beginning to heat up and dampen. He grabbed my hair and pulled me forward, ready to slam me into the rock once more and I shut my eyes, preparing for the final hit.

I felt him being ripped away and opened my eyes to see him hanging over me, his eyes wide and blank. It took me a few long moments to realize he wasn't breathing; from his chest protruded a long, dark tentacle, blood slowly forming around it and dripping onto the rock above me. Again, Marissa screamed; I was surprised she still had enough voice in her to do so.

"_**Annoying, really."**_

Slenderman commented, flicking Andrew's limp body away as if it was a rag doll. I tried to stand up, weakly managing to get on my feet before slumping back over onto the rock for support.

"_**Now, where were we?"**_

Marissa had managed to get to her feet, shaking like a leaf as she glared up at Slenderman's face. He turned his face down towards her and shifted his arms, folding them behind his back.

"_**Marissa, isn't it?" **_

Marissa said nothing as Slenderman slowly moved towards her.

"_**You're a very interesting one…And you would just love to punch me in the face, yes?"**_

Marissa's hand trembled as He bent over, bringing his face closer until it was only a foot from her own.

"_**Well? Go ahead."**_

Marissa blinked in surprise, balling her hands into fists and loosening them again. Finally she took a step back and, closing her eyes, pumped her arm backwards, ready to swing. In one swift movement Slenderman grabbed her arm, snapped it with a sickening crunch, and sliced a tentacle across her neck. Her eyes snapped open and she tried to gasp, instead making a sickening gurgling sound as blood began to pour from a hair-thin wound on her throat. She reached up her good arm, tears streaming down her face as she tried to gasp for air and scream at the pain in her arm. Within moments she was on the ground, twitching, before she stopped altogether with a last gurgle.

I stood at her for a few long moments before bursting out into laughter; Marcus stared at me in utter shock as I dropped to the ground as well, holding my sides as I laughed uncontrollably. My sanity had finally reached its breaking point; I was nothing but a mindless shell now, doing whatever it wished. I didn't even need to see to know that Slenderman was killing Marcus; a small gasp of terror, the creaking of trees, and the snapping of bones.

He was gone.

So finally I was the last one left. Sitting, laughing as my friends died at the hands of this monster before me.

"_**You are an interesting one, Sierra."**_

Slenderman mused; he was again using my dad's voice, but I didn't care. I heard the crackle of frosted grass being trod on, and knew he was right behind me. I didn't care; I was long gone already, so he'd just be doing me a favor.

"_**Interesting; you held your sanity the longest."**_

He continued.

"_**Sarah was gone when you found my little…birthday message for you. Marissa was gone at that…imposter's death, and the rest slowly lost it one by one…"**_

I felt something touch my arm and shied away from it as he talked, feeling a tiny, tiny shred of my sanity return.

"_**But you; you held it up until the very end. And even now it seems as if some if it has been recovered…or perhaps you've accepted your fate?"**_

"I accepted my fate a long time ago." I murmured, closing my eyes. "The moment we entered this forest I knew…I knew this was it…"

"_**You seemed confident that you would all get out scathe-free." **_

He commented.

"_**Perhaps it was the delusion of freedom the human mind conjures that gave you hope."**_

"Maybe." I managed to say, my eyes tearing up. Shakily I rolled over, sitting up and looking up at Slenderman's face like a small child. "Before you do kill me, I have one question." I said quietly. I stared at him for a few long moments, pushing the static away, before I finally asked.

"Why me?"

"_**You were always different from other humans."**_

Slenderman's answer was quicker than I anticipated, and I blinked in confusion.

"_**When others feared, you showed an interest; even most small children are scared of me. It is merely my…as you humans say, 'powers', that draws them to me. But you; you came at your own free will. And when I was ready to end it, you resisted my…'powers'. You ran; and eventually, you forgot. That lingering fear of the dark? Merely your mind remembering me subconsciously, trying to tell you. But as all human minds, it refused; the memory was suppressed and tossed aside."**_

"Why do you do…this, then?" I asked, gesturing towards Marissa's body. "What do you get from killing innocent kids…?"

"_**You are just delaying the inevitable with these tedious questions."**_

"It isn't everyday that you get to talk to the god damn Slenderman…even if he's about to kill you…"

"…_**You humans really are strange. Always wanting to know why something happens. Why do trees grow? Why do birds fly? It is merely their nature."**_

"It's your nature to kill kids?"

"_**If you wish to put it that way, then yes."**_

I said nothing, I merely stared at is face as the remains of my sanity slowly drained away as the static grew in my ears. I kept my mouth shut as the static grew to deafening levels, and I closed my eyes slowly. I felt something wrap around my waist, and felt my body leave the ground; a familiar thick fog swamped through my mind, and I opened my eyes again.

"_**Do not be frightened, child."**_

He said in his toneless, calming voice. "I'm not." I murmured quietly, relaxing in his grip.

"_**Sleep, child."**_

I felt a wave of exhaustion hit me and my eyes slowly began to slide shut.

"_**Sleep." **_

As my eyes fully closed there was a dull pain in my stomach, followed by a wet ripping sound, and everything went black.

**AN:: askldjf Holy cow this story is like...finished! :O I can't believe it...  
**

**I'm sorry if I disappointed anybody with this ending; I know it wasn't as thrilling as the rest of the story was (as you guys say) and came kind of quickly (*coughthatswhatshesaidcough*), but I really tried hard. I've been working on this last chapter nonstop for the past few days and I've finally gotten it to a point where I like it. If you don't, then that's okay; but I'm not going to tolerate any badmouthing about how you disliked it or how it should've ended differently and blah blah blah. I mean, look at it from my (or Sierra's) point of view; if you were literally staring death in the face, you'd want to know why he was doing what he does, right? Who cares if you can't tell anybody; at least you know when you die...^^;  
**

**If this isn't a good enough reason, then I'm sorry. *coughNOTREALLYcough* But you can just deal with it. 3  
**

**But...is this really the end...?  
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**Also I bet none of you would've guessed that Andrew and Duncan were brothers XD  
**


	26. Epilogue

The living room TV clicked on as I settled down in front of it, blinking slowly. There was an urgent news report on…

"…Seven teenagers were found dead in Deadwood Forest this morning, six reported missing just last night around eleven o'clock. The police have identified two of the victims as Sierra Makson and Marcus Flink, the others have yet to be identified. So far no evidence has been found on who the killer is. If you have any leads on who it might be, please contact authorities immediately.

"Police also reported finding numerous video cameras around the forest, supposedly dropped by each kid. We advise young children to leave the room, for the following images are very graphic and could be disturbing to some."

The news woman was replaced with a dark picture of what looked like trees; somebody (the holder of the camera, maybe?) was breathing heavily as they ran. "Sierra!" A male voice yelled from somewhere off camera. "Sier -" the guy was cut off by a scream of terror from someone nearby as they stepped into a clearing. The ground was soaked in blood, a body laying near the edge of the undergrowth. The body was covered in stab wounds and a knife lay nearby.

The scene changed to static for a few long moments before clearing up again, revealing the pale face of a girl; her makeup was running down her face and her whole neck was soaked in blood, one arm sticking out at an awkward angle as if it was broken. The image changed again, and I shut the TV off.

I cocked my head to the side a little. Marcus, hmm? I guess it didn't surprise me; Slenderman didn't show pity upon anybody, not even me. I knew quite well that my time was running short and that it'd all be over soon.

The TV turned back on by itself a few moments later, the channel quickly turning to complete static before shutting off. For a split second I saw his mark, the Operator's Symbol, and I smiled. He was out there right now, watching, waiting. Perhaps I could help him with his next…victims.

"Sadie, we're leaving!"

"Coming!" I replied to my mother's sobbing voice and stood up, dusting off my dress and turning away from the TV. As I walked towards her, I began to sing to myself quietly.

"_One, two, Slender's coming for you. Three, four, don't bother locking the door. Five, six he'll get his hunger fix. Seven, eight, better stay up late. Nine, ten, never scream again."_

**AN:: Yes, this is the official end of The Hunted. I'm proud to say this is one of my best Fanfics I've ever written, and my first one that was about horror and gore. I don't know if I really did well on much of it, but at least I can say I'm proud of it. **

**Any comments are appreciated unless you're going to complain about 'oh this story should've ended like such' or whatever. Honestly.  
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**Yes, I could've done better. (maybe) Yes, I like my ending. No, I don't want to hear you bitch about how you wanted it to end differently. Sheesh. My story, my ending.  
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**Anyways, if you DID enjoy it, then I thank you for reading, faving it, all the wonderful reviews...I can honestly say the reviews are what kept me going with this.  
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**Oh yes, and I don't know if the news would ACTUALLY show that kind of stuff on TV. Most likely not, but I really don't care. I wanted it to, so I did. (I remember me having to leave the room once because of something on the news I wasn't allowed to see) You can obviously tell why I wanted to do that. (and if not, then reread this chapter I )  
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**That is all I have to say for now, my lovelies~! I don't know if I'll ever write something along the lines of horror again, unless I find something else I'm interested in. And please, don't be shy about contacting me if you ever need/want to~! I love talking with people who share common interests with me (and those who don't too XDD)  
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**Until next time.  
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**~3~  
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